Bushido Senshi Sailor Moon
by dungeonwonk
Summary: My retelling of the Queen Beryl story-arc, but set in Edo, Japan in the early 1600s. Life may be different, but some people never change. Enjoy.
1. Chapter 1

BUSHIDO SENSHI SAILOR MOON

(SWORD-FIGHTING SAILOR MOON)

written by Patrick Drazen

using characters created by Naoko Takeuchi and others associated with the manga and anime "Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon"

Chapter 1: "An Unusual Summer Begins! A Cat and an Apprentice Arrive!"

Tsukino Usagi had gone to the docks so many times she was sure she could have done it in her sleep. She loved the sights, the smells, the noise, the nonstop activity, and couldn't imagine how it could be any other way. The men there were of every age, from teenage to ancient, and their looks ranged from god-handsome to dog-ugly. Not that her heart could ever stray from her beloved Mamo-chan; there was no chance of that. Still, one can't help but notice certain things.

Especially in summer. Edo was the worst then; hot and steamy and humid, at least when the rain wasn't coming down by the bucketful. Still, in the middle of it all, the docks were full of men working wooden ships of every size, moving cargo on and off on their backs or, in some rare cases, using draft animals. In high summer most of them would be stripped down to their fundoshi loincloths. That's when her mother spoke most sharply against going to the docks.

"Remember that your father is a samurai for a respected daimyo." Usagi knew that 'respected' meant that Kuruda, the daimyo who retained Tsukino, was not so big and not so powerful, but had had the good sense (or good fortune) to ally himself with Tokugawa. As long as the shogunate didn't change hands again, as it had so often the last few years, the daimyo was secure, which meant that Usagi's father was employed. She knew her family was better off than many, especially in the countryside.

"Mind what I say, Usagi," her mother would go on. "Those dockworkers aren't fit company for a respectable girl. They're only too anxious to teach you more than you want to know. Ask your grandmother if you don't believe me." Usagi nodded and bowed to her mother and went down to the docks anyway. What did mama know? When the work was hardest and time was short, the last thing a dockworker wanted was to fight with an uncooperative 14-year-old girl. There were plenty of other girls around offering-or even selling-that kind of fun. And if things did get a little scary, she could always find Mamo-chan, and count on his protection.

And even if he wasn't there, something wonderful was always happening.

Crates of fragrant tea from China passed through the port, with a smell that went right through the bags and boxes and made Usagi dizzy with delight. There were bolts of silk, barrels of sake, planks of lumber, bales and bales of rice, even the occasional herd of oxen or pigs. Once in a while something huge or heavy or just plain strange would arrive on one of the tall alien ships from Europe-but that was happening less and less often lately. Tokugawa Ieyasu had become shogun two years earlier, and the visits by western ships and western people, including the crazy western priests, had dropped off almost immediately.

She'd heard one of those priests one time trying to speak Japanese, and had to run out of the building because of an uncontrollable laughing attack. The priest spoke the language well enough, except for one word: the word for God. He tried to pronounce it "kami", but it kept coming out "kame"-the tortoise. Here he was giving a sermon that a tortoise created the universe, that the tortoise is good and powerful-I couldn't help myself, Usagi reflected. Besides, if something's funny, why shouldn't we laugh? Just because father's a samurai, we don't have to pretend to be so serious all the time.

She rounded the corner of a shed, and saw the building owned by Chiba the rice merchant. And there he was, in front:

"Mamo-chan!"

"MAMO-CHAAAAN!" echoed a dozen stevedores in high girlish voices.

Her beloved, Chiba Mamoru, was sitting on top of a bale of rice, laughing along with the stevedores, not embarrassed by Usagi's attention or the jokes about it. He was counting the cargo as it went onto another ship from the warehouse. The family rice brokerage was fairly successful, growing a little bit every year. Not like those crazy speculators down in Osaka; they were gamblers, just as likely to lose everything as to make a fortune in a given year.

She sat herself down on an adjacent bale and just watched Mamoru for a minute. He had taken to smoking a pipe lately, maybe trying to look older than his eighteen years. In any case, he did all right as long as he just puffed at it absent-mindedly; any long sustained draw would send him into a coughing fit, which never failed to amuse the older men on the docks.

Usagi didn't mind. She cared too much about Mamoru to ever laugh at him-well, hardly ever. Sometimes some odd thing about him would just strike her as funny, and she'd laugh until tears came to her eyes. She couldn't help it; when she was amused she laughed; when she was sad she cried; when she was bothered she complained. As if she never heard of the word decorum.

At least today she was behaving herself, watching as Mamoru counted the bales of rice, noted the numbers on a piece of paper, then checked the calculations with an abacus. Finally, he put down the paper and turned to her. "Aren't you supposed to be studying now?"

"Study what? Flower arranging? I think these flowers are much prettier than anything I could come up with." She got onto her feet, spinning in place and showing off the floral design on her light silk kimono.

Unfortunately, she took one too many spins, tripped over her own feet and fell on her face.

The dockworkers chuckled, but not too loudly. They didn't want to have too much fun at Mamoru's expense. He just reached a hand out to help Usagi to her feet.

"Usako, who don't you keep up with your studies? You know your parents want to be able to offer you as an accomplished young lady."

"But why should I? You like me the way I am, don't you?"

"But someone like you should know so many things. Flower arranging, music, dance..."

"But I'm no good at any of that!" She sat herself back on the bale of rice.

"How do you know when you don't even try? You're not a child; girls younger than you get engaged every day. Someday soon, your family will show you off during an omiai dinner. What are they going to say?"

"I'll tell them that my match has already been made by destiny, thank you very much. Who needs a matchmaker?"

"Your parents will have something to say about that."

"What? My father's a samurai for a successful daimyo; your father-"

"My adopted father."

"Sorry. Anyway, he's a successful businessman. It's all perfect!"

A rumble of thunder interrupted Usagi. The storm had been building without their noticing. "Storms can ruin even the most perfect day, Usako. Think about that on your way home."

"Mamo-chan..."

"Home! If you don't beat the storm it'll soak you to the skin."

"So what? Flowers need water."

"But not a flood. I'll see you tomorrow. I won't go anywhere, I promise."

The wind started picking up; all the experienced dockworkers knew what was coming and started preparing for the storm. Mamoru jumped off his bale of rice and started putting up the shutters. There was no choice now; Usagi had to try to get home before the skies opened up.

She ran down a couple of back-alleys, past noodle shops, taverns and warehouses. She passed a boarded up building that used to be a Catholic church. Father said being Christian was kind of a fad back when he was my age, Usagi reflected as she ran, her wooden geta deftly dodging mud puddles and horse droppings. Can't imagine why; we have so many gods around here as it is.

She turned one corner, and almost plowed into a fat man trying to push a heavily laden handcart out of the mud. He cursed at it, then left it in the middle of the road and ran under the eaves of a building. Usagi soon realized why; the rain had started. She realized something else; she hadn't been paying attention and had gotten lost. So much for finding things in my sleep, she thought a little bitterly. She didn't want to take shelter with the fat man, so she looked around and saw an open door to what seemed to be a warehouse. She ran inside just as the skies opened up.

She didn't know how long this one would last; summer rains can go on all day, or take only a few heartbeats. In any event, Mamo-chan was right; she'd be soaked to the skin before she went from one street to the next. May as well wait here. There were only a few lumpy sacks of vegetables here, so she settled herself on the most comfortable-looking one and waited.

As the rain beat down on the roof, she thought she saw something move in the shadows of the warehouse. Was it a rat? She took off one geta, ready to throw it if the rat showed itself. After a minute, the shadow appeared again-and turned out to be a small black cat with a mark on its forehead.

"Come here, Blackie. Is that your name-Blackie?" Then she noticed the odd mark on its forehead: a scar shaped like a crescent moon. "I've never seen that on a cat before. Maybe that's your name: Mikazuki. Is that who you are?" The cat just looked steadily at Usagi. "It's a nice name but a bit of a mouthful. How about just Mika? How do you feel about that, Mika?" This time, the cat meowed, then turned and walked out the door. Through the doorway Usagi could see that the rain had stopped, at least for the moment.

Usagi got home to find that luck was with her. She should have been with her mother or grandmother for the past two hours studying womanly arts-and flower arranging was on the schedule for today-but Lady Haruko, the wife of the daimyo Kuruda, had taken a notion to visit some of the families of her husband's retainers. She was pleasant enough company, and very well acquainted with most of the political scandals and court gossip of recent years. However, she tended to lose track of time, never staying on a visit for less than an hour.

So Usagi didn't miss anything. The lesson would have been suspended when the daimyo's wife arrived. She heard the clicking of wooden sticks and walked around to an inner garden.

There, her younger brother was being given basic sword fighting instruction by their father. They were dueling with bamboo rods. Usagi couldn't help but feel envious. Why should father teach him about swords, just because he's a boy? I'm older. If there was an emergency, I could probably handle his blade. I'd probably have to.

Then the idea struck her; why not? Mama and grandma have company; father and little brother have their lesson. Let's take a look at it and see. With that she sneaked through the house to her father's study, where his two swords-one long, one short-and armor enjoyed a place of honor. It had been several years since they saw battle, but he maintained them in top condition, just in case.

Usagi knew this as she took the katana-the long sword, still in its scabbard-out of the room and into the back garden. She didn't want to start swinging around a blade that was sharper than a razor indoors. A good sword, in the hands of a master, can cut through bone.

She carefully drew the sword, picked out a bamboo stalk as a likely opponent, swung-and missed her target by several inches. The sword was heavier than it looked. Still, she wasn't about to give up. She swung again; the blade cut into the bamboo, and stayed there. She pulled and twisted at the blade; when it suddenly came free of the bamboo, she lost her balance and fell on the grass. So did the sword, missing a large rock by inches.

Maybe next year I'll be ready, Usagi thought glumly as she cleaned the blade, put it back in its sheath and snuck it back into her father's room. There she noticed that her fall had left a large mud and grass stain on her kimono. She'd have to change it quickly before her mother-

"Usagi!"

Caught.

That wasn't too bad, Usagi thought as she undressed for bed. Mother couldn't scold her too harshly while there was company in the house, so that spared her until after dinner. In the middle of dinner, another of the samurai under daimyo Kuruda showed up. That prolonged the dinner and delayed a scolding even further. Finally, once that guest had been sent on his way, Usagi's mother didn't have time to deliver anything except a brief but stern warning.

As she slipped into her futon, Usagi couldn't have been happier. I really like my life, and I don't ever want it to change! Well, maybe one part...

Usagi closed her eyes and settled into her nightly fantasy. She looked forward to the day she and Mamo-chan were married, and he'd be sleeping not in a building on the other side of town but in the same room, right next to her, where anytime she wanted she could reach over and-

Her hand involuntarily slid along the futon, until it hit a lump. A lump that wasn't supposed to be there.

Usagi's eyes shot open, and she breathed a sigh of relief as her impulse to scream evaporated. There was the black cat with the crescent moon on its forehead. "Good evening, Mika. You scared me half to death. What brings you here?"

"I came to give you a message."

The impulse to scream came back, as a cold terror gripped Usagi. A talking cat?! This was not supposed to be happening, unless-

"W-W-What do you want from me, Mister Demon?"

"In the first place," the cat sniffed, "I'm not a mister. In the second place, I'm not a demon. Nekomata—cat demons—have two tails, and I only have one. But there are demons in this house tonight, and I've come to help you fight them off."

"What do you mean? Why would-" Usagi's question was interrupted by a strangled cry. "Father!"

She checked her father's room; he was gone and his futon was a mess.

She could hear her mother and brother in another part of the house, both crying hysterically. Without a second thought, she went to the study, grabbed the long sword and ran to the inner garden, where a half-dozen men dressed as ninja had her father pinned to the ground. One of them took a short knife and made a quick cut in Tsukino's right wrist. As soon as the cut was made, they at once jumped clear of him.

"At least now you won't be able to interfere," one of them hissed; his voice really did sound more like a snake than like a human being, Usagi thought.

"I will have revenge-" Tsukino began, before passing out from loss of blood.

The ninja with the snake's voice kicked Tsukino in the side. "And how will you get it, fool? Your son is too weak, your wife is no fighter..."

"Don't forget about me!"

The ninja turned as one to see Usagi, brandishing her father's sword. She swung the blade up and over her head-and promptly embedded it in the top of the doorframe. At this the ninja all burst out laughing.

"You don't even know what to do with that thing, do you?"

Tears started to burn in Usagi's eyes as she pulled the blade loose. They were right; what was she doing? She didn't know the first thing about the way of the sword.

"Usagi!" Mika stood behind Usagi, speaking softly so that the ninja could neither see nor hear her. "Repeat after me: O Moon, I summon your power!"

"What?!"

"Just say it!"

"O-tsuki-sama, chikara-wo yobidasu!"

The moon came out.

At least, that's how it appeared to Usagi. The sword took on a strange silver glow, shedding its own light rather than reflecting. And so did she. Her simple yukata was now shot through with threads of silver, each of which shone like a firefly. She started to look at her new clothes.

"No time! Attack!"

Remembering her wounded father, Usagi opened her mouth-and out came a bloodcurdling yell that scared even her. She didn't let it stop her, though, from raising the blade over her head and charging the six intruders.

This time there was no clumsiness, no bad moves. It was as if all Usagi had to do was think of one of her father's combinations, and the sword moved of itself to execute it. The glowing sword blocked, slashed, parried and thrust, as if with a mind of its own, until the ninja-more humiliated than injured, and unable to land a single blow against this fierce young girl-broke off the attack. They retreated over the back wall, one of them stopping only long enough to say, "Things here are not done yet."

Usagi kept her sword at the ready for another minute, until she was sure that the ninja had retreated into the night. Only then did she lower the blade in a state of stunned surprise. "What did I just do? Was that me?"

"With a little help," Mika commented behind her. "You did a wonderful job, Usagi, but right now your father needs to be looked after."

Usagi called her mother. The entire household gathered around Tsukino. They stopped the bleeding as best they were able, but the samurai had already lost a lot of blood and was almost in a state of shock. Usagi's mother sent little brother for Akimoto, an old herbalist who had been the family physician for years. While he was gone, Usagi sneaked away to return the sword to her father's room.

"Excuse me," a strange, high-pitched voice shouted at the front door a few minutes later. The maid ran to answer it, and less than a minute later was leading the visitor to look at Tsukino's wound.

This wasn't the first time Usagi compared her Mamo-chan to other boys. This one, who said he was an apprentice to Akimoto named Shinnosuke, was young; about Usagi's age. And, while Mamo-chan was handsome, this boy was definitely "cute". Well, Usagi tried to brush off the interest she felt in this boy, some women like that kind of boy; some men do, too. But, as worried as she was about her father, she kept scanning this visitor, looking for something vaguely familiar, although she couldn't have said what.

The boy's face was framed by black hair which was just a bit too long. His eyes were distorted behind European-style glasses, hooked onto his ears with string. As he studied the wound, practically putting his nose into it, he simply looked strange. But when he was through, took off the glasses and turned to Tsukino, he seemed serious and very sad.

"You are a samurai, and I am sure you are very brave," he told Tsukino. "Are you brave enough to hear the truth?"

"I must hear it," he nodded.

"This hand will never be able to hold a sword again."

"But the cut is not deep. Surely you have some kind of medicine-"

"The people who did this to you deliberately cut a certain-how should I say-rope in your arm. This rope is what lets you move your hand. Once this rope has been cut, we can try to put the ends back together, but they never grow back together to form one rope. I'm sorry."

"Who are you to tell us these things? You're just a boy. Where is your master?" Tsukino's wife asked angrily.

"My master is at home with a fever. But he would have come himself in spite of the fever if he thought I could not understand this case. And if I did not understand the case, I would have been the first to say so. The truth is, this hand will be almost worthless for a long time to come."

"Then we're ruined? We're to be thrown into the street!"

"NO!" Although he'd lost a lot of blood, the samurai's voice still carried authority. "Don't be stupid, woman. I will speak to the master of this. I can serve him with one hand until the other heals."

But he just said it won't heal! Oh father...why? Who would want to attack you?

To be continued


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: "Attack on the Daimyo! Usagi Meets a Miko!"

Daimyo Kuruda had no doubt at all about the attack. "This was an attempt to assassinate me, of course; what else could it be?" He addressed his household staff the morning after the attack on Tsukino. "A man who attacks a brick in a wall is regarded as a fool, unless his real plan is to get through to whatever's on the other side of the wall. My retinue of samurai is my wall, and any attack on it can only be seen as an attack on me."

The daimyo's secretary, Morobiki, spoke up: "With all due respect, my lord, can we be sure that there is nothing amiss in the Tsukino household? It would be better for us all if the misfortune were aimed at him alone."

"I have thought of that. But my wife was there just yesterday afternoon, visiting with Tsukino's wife. She said she saw nothing amiss, and I trust her in this judgment." Kuruda did well to trust her. He had married the daughter of a policeman, and she had learned much from her father. Her powers of observation were almost unequaled, and he used her visits to his retainers as an excuse to spy on them. Nobody suspected that she was anything other than the gossipy wife of a daimyo.

"Therefore, after lunch I will go to the shrine, to see what the spirits can tell me of the reason for this attack." With that, he asked Morobiki about the next order of business for the day.

After lunch, the daimyo headed up a party of about twelve people, including samurai, who passed through the streets of their quiet section of Edo toward Kazan Jinja, the neighborhood's Shinto temple. Usagi was in the crowd that followed behind, not getting too close. She wanted to go to the shrine herself, to pray for her father's recovery.

When she got to Kazan Jinja, however, she saw that the daimyo's party had gone to a small shrine off of the main building. Usagi clapped her hands, rang the bell to get the gods' attention, and made her own prayers sincere but quick. Then, she trotted over to the doorway of the small chapel to see what she could see.

Inside the small building the daimyo's samurai knelt closest to the door. Usagi knew most of them and was tempted to at least wave to them, but it would be worth their heads if she did that. She just looked further around the room. A large bonfire blazed on an altar in the center of the room. The daimyo's party sat well away from the flames, except for Kuruda himself. He respectfully sat just behind a girl who looked no older than Usagi, wearing the white shirt and red pleated pantaloons of her calling.

This is my lucky day, Usagi thought. I get to see Hino Rei in action!

The same family had been the priests of this Shinto temple for generations, and yet the reports were that they had never produced anyone of such spiritual power as the girl Hino Rei. Her family had decided when she was quite young that she would be more than just another temple maiden. Rei was literally born to be a miko, a Shinto priestess. When she was born, the umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck and her left arm, while she actually held the cord in her little fist. That omen alone-being born as if she already held a rosary-would have been enough for anyone else. But there was more to come.

She started out by seeing into unseen places and finding lost objects; then at age six she began drafting horoscopes. At age seven her parents started teaching her enough Chinese so that she could read the I Ching; within a year she was thoroughly adept at using that book to divine the future. A year later, she added divination by yarrow stalks. She had even performed several exorcisms, casting out the evil spirits of the dead. And she was only fourteen years old. Nobody knew what she would be capable of if she kept on this way.

But for all her fame and talent, Hino Rei was not happy. People who had heard of her treated her more as a curiosity than as a person. Other temple maidens in Edo refused to have anything to do with her, saying that she was "trying to get above herself". Some people even treated her as if she were a performer, and expected her to do magic tricks on demand. Except for her grandfather, the high priest of the temple, she didn't seem to have any friends.

Usagi didn't have time to feel sorry for the girl, though; the ritual was just getting interesting. Rei's rhythmic, monotone chant grew louder and louder, as the flames seemed to grow higher and higher, until she seemed in danger of being scorched by the bonfire that she didn't even notice was there. All at once, the flames died down, and Rei slumped down, almost falling over. A young apprentice at the temple helped her to her feet and made her walk around for a minute or two to clear her head. Only then did she kneel again to face the daimyo.

"Forgive me, my lord, but I have bad news about this attack. It will not be the last. Things here are not yet done."

A chill ran down Usagi's spine like a mouse with cold feet. Those were the exact words of the ninja in the garden.

"Dark powers are being raised against you," Rei continued, "and against certain other daimyo in Edo. These forces come from far away; beyond Korea, beyond China, beyond India, beyond Europe, beyond anyone's ability to see. They have only started their campaign, and their numbers will grow." Rei paused and closed her eyes. "But you need not worry, my lord. There are also forces at work protecting you, the shogun, the nation and the world."

With that, she slumped over again, as if she had gone to sleep. The apprentice again helped Rei to her feet and out of the building. However, just as they came out and stood next to Usagi, they stopped.

Rei turned to Usagi and said, "Don't distract the guards next time." Then she continued across the yard.

At first Usagi was too stunned to be offended. She had her back to me the whole time; how did she know...? And what nerve! Telling me how to act around people I've known my whole life. She started back home.

She knew she shouldn't stay away too long, especially if there might be the chance of another attack.

But she waited all day, and no attack came. She picked at her food during dinner, keeping her ears pricked up for the slightest sound of danger. Still no attack. She pretended to go to bed earlier than usual, but kept listening into the night. Nothing threatened the Tsukino household. Grumbling to herself about wasting a perfectly good day-but regretting that thought just long enough to say yet another prayer for her father's recovery-she finally settled into a deep sleep around midnight.

A sleep so deep that Mika actually had to swat Usagi in the face several times with her paw to wake her up a couple of hours later. "Mika! It's the middle of the night! Why are you doing this to me? I'm not a boy cat, and the window's open if you need to pee." She rolled over to go back to sleep.

"Get up now, Usagi!" This cat was beginning to sound more and more like Usagi's mother. "This time, it's not your father who's in trouble; it's the daimyo Kuruda!"

Usagi dressed as quickly as she could, took her father's sword and ran out into the street. She didn't try to stay in side streets now; this was an emergency. If the daimyo were killed or even injured, her father-wounded or not-would have failed in his duty. Usagi understood exactly what that meant. Losing his job would be a welcome prospect; even being thrown homeless into the street would be better than having him commit seppuku.

But the house and the street were quiet. Nobody had been sent by the daimyo to fetch Tsukino. Why was this cat-?

Usagi turned the corner, and almost collided with Shinnosuke. "Oh hi! What are you-?"

"It's all right," Mika said from atop a stone wall. "Shinnosuke is one of us."

"One of who? You still haven't said-"

"Later! Shinnosuke, you need to defend the daimyo."

"Wait a minute!" the boy interrupted, adjusting his glasses. "I study healing. I couldn't stab anyone."

"There are other ways beside the way of the sword, and we both know it. Do you see that star?" The cat indicated the east, where the Water Star was shining, anticipating the sunrise in an hour's time. "The morning star is the source of your power. Call to it!"

"Suisei, chikara-wo yobidasu!"

And Shinnosuke vanished. At least, he seemed to. After a few seconds, Usagi realized that Shinnosuke was now dressed as a ninja, but with clothes that were not the usual black of a ninja. Usagi could see through him; could see the cat sitting on the wall behind Shinnosuke, although everything seemed to shimmer, as if she were looking at a reflection in water.

"Fine. Now go!" Without another word Shinnosuke cleared the wall in a single jump and vanished into the daimyo's garden. "Your turn, Usagi."

"You want me to be a ninja?"

"NO! Just call to the moon, like you did the other night."

"O-tsuki-sama, chikara-wo yobidasu!"

Again the silver radiance possessed Usagi and her father's sword. She effortlessly jumped onto the wall beside Mika, and looked into Kuruda's garden.

A half dozen of the daimyo's men-samurai who lived on the estate-lay on the ground, felled by a force of ninja twice their number. The dozen ninja had just regrouped and were preparing to move on the house when, one by one, they swiftly started falling to the ground unconscious. Out of reflex, the last four jumped up into the tall pine trees on the estate, out of the way of whatever was felling their comrades. Usagi knew what to look for, and could just make out Shinnosuke, dashing from one ninja to another and silencing them with a blow to the head from a nunchaku.

As the four remaining ninja watched from a high branch, a flash of light flew through the air toward them, cutting the branch that held them and sending them toward the ground. They reached out to other branches to break their fall, but the branches moved of their own accord just out of their reach. When they landed on the ground, the shining maiden with the shining sword was waiting for them.

"You cross our path again, girl?" one of them hissed in that strange voice.

Usagi had no idea where the words were coming from, but she was speaking them: "And I always will. I stand for love, and I stand for justice, and I stand against you and your plans." She moved the point of the sword until it just touched the exposed wrist of one of the ninja.

She didn't see what happened next, since the ninja wore black from head to toe, but the second the moonlight sword touched his skin, it started bubbling like water on a hot rock. The ninja's agonized screams lasted only a few seconds, until he was reduced to empty clothes on the ground. The others panicked, rounded up their fellows who were just awakening, and fled the way they had come.

There was a movement in the air. Shinnosuke had removed his hood, and was now visible to Usagi. He examined the empty clothes on the ground. "What did you do?"

"I just touched him with the point, honest! I didn't know that was going to happen."

Mika had walked up and was now sniffing the clothing. "I was afraid of this. Some of the enemy isn't even human. You must both be very careful."

"Don't worry, Mika. I think I'm getting the hang of this now." Usagi sheathed her father's sword and turned to go back over the wall. As she turned, the sword got tangled in a shrubbery. Usagi tried to pull it out, and only succeeded in losing her balance and falling into a carp pond.

Mika just shook her head. "I hope you get better at this soon, Usagi-chan, because the dangers will only get worse."

To be continued


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: "Battle in the Shrine! The Third Fighter is Born!"

Usagi and Shinnosuke agreed to meet at first light to go back to the temple. At least, that was the plan. Shinnosuke had been told to send a message to Hino Rei to tell her they were coming, and then to wait at the end of the street near the Tsukino household. "Don't knock," Usagi had said, "and don't worry. I'll be the first one awake." Shinnosuke got to the end of the street, and waited. He bought a couple of rice balls from a passing vendor for breakfast, and waited. He watched dozens of tradesmen going to their jobs, dozens of women going to the market. And waited.

Finally, after two hours in the same spot, Shinnosuke saw Usagi come dashing out of her front door, carrying the black cat. She stopped in front of Shinnosuke just long enough to say, "It wasn't my fault!" Then she ran down the road, stopping after a few yards. "Well, come on! We've got to go to the temple!"

Shinnosuke smiled, shook his head and ran to catch up with Usagi.

When they arrived at the small side-chapel that was Rei's domain, they found Rei inside offering up prayers. She stopped as the shadows crossed the doorway.

"I'd just about given up on you two," Rei said as she rose from before the fire. "You did say early morning, didn't you?"

"Well, you know how it is," Usagi began, "and things come up-"

"And you took too long to wake up."

"You don't know that! You're just guessing!"

Shinnosuke stepped between the two of them. "Maybe we should stay with what we know." Then they told Rei about the battle the night before, and of the ninja who evaporated when touched by the moon-sword. "Rei-san, what did you mean yesterday about dark forces?"

"This isn't a political plot; it never was. I've seen those all my life. One shogun gets rid of another, then their retainers kill each other off. This one is different. There's a sense of evil under all these attacks, and that mysterious ninja proves it. It's as if this isn't a fight between two armies, but between two gods."

"Can't you get rid of it?" Usagi asked.

"I don't even know how big the threat is, or how far it's gotten. I was just about to send out my messengers."

"Messengers?"

Rei looked up to the hole in the roof that let out the smoke of the sacred fire, and clapped her hands three times. Almost at once, two very large, very black crows sailed in through the hole in the roof and landed at Rei's feet. She at once crouched down and started talking to them.

"I have a very important job for you two. There have been-"

One of the crows interrupted, cawing loudly.

"Then you know what I mean. I need to know how far it's gone, and who's behind it."

The other crow cawed.

"Don't be rude; they're my friends."

Both crows put up a racket. Usagi and Shinnosuke exchanged nervous glances.

"Oh, all right," Rei said, clearly annoyed. "These are two new friends of mine, Tsukino Usagi and Shinnosuke." Rei gestured toward the crows. "These are my agents, I suppose. They're my eyes and ears. They can cover the entire island within a week. I call them Takaki and Fukaiumi-Tall Tree and Deep Ocean."

Usagi wasn't sure, but she could have sworn that the crows bowed to her and Shinnosuke. The boy, for his part, bowed to the crows as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "I'm pleased to meet you." He shot a quick glance at Usagi.

Usagi felt foolish. Still, she thought, if I'm talking to cats now, why not to birds too? She also bowed to the crows. "The same here."

With that, the crows shot back up to the roof, through the chimney-hole and into the sky. "Now I can really find out the truth," Rei said, almost to herself. "No more guesswork." Usagi cleared her throat, a little too loudly. "What is it?" Rei said, a bit annoyed at the disturbance of her train of thought.

"Rei-san, this is all really interesting, but I'm still worried about my father. Are they going to try to get him again?"

"I have some good news: they aren't interested in attacking him anymore."

"Thank goodness."

"Nope; they're interested in attacking you."

"WHAAAT!?"

"It's something about you. They really think you're the biggest threat they have. Can't imagine why," Rei sniffed.

"You just think you're better than everybody else because of your little magic tricks."

"TRICKS?! This is serious work here! You talk with one cat and you think you know everything."

"Well, you make it seem like you're the only one who..." Usagi finally stopped. "What do you know about the cat?"

"I told you my crows keep an eye on things."

Shinnosuke seemed a little nervous at this prospect. "Do you think something will happen again tonight?"

"Count on it. The only thing we don't know is where and when. We'll just have to wait. Meanwhile, I can offer you some tea."

"Gee, why don't you have one of your animal friends do that?"

Rei glared at Usagi; Usagi glared at Rei. Shinnosuke, meanwhile, looked at the two and started chuckling.

"WHAT'S SO FUNNY?" they both demanded.

"You two. You fight like sisters. You must really like each other."

Rei and Usagi both looked at Shinnosuke as if he'd said something in really bad taste. Then they looked at each other-and couldn't help but laugh at their own seriousness.

On the way into her room, Rei called to an acolyte in the yard to bring them a pot of tea.

Usagi, settling into a pillow, said, "I was really impressed with what you did yesterday."

"It was very strong," Rei agreed. "I don't get readings like that very often. But it doesn't seem worth it sometimes. I've got to stay around the temple while you have all the fun."

"You mean my life?" Usagi asked in surprise. "It's hardly fun; mostly I call it one colossal bore."

"You just know your own lives too well," Shinnosuke said. "If you traded places, you'd probably see things differently."

"Well, you can have my little demon-brother any time," Usagi joked.

Rei didn't answer right away. Instead she jumped to the screen-door and slid it open. An elderly little man almost fell into the room. He had been standing near the door listening. "Grandfather! What are you doing?"

"Just making sure you're all right," the little old man said as he picked himself up. "Two pretty girls and a young lad off by themselves... Say, you ARE lovely, aren't you?" he said to Usagi. "Why not come to see me when you're through here? I could show you the secrets of the cosmos," he said, grabbing the front of his pants for emphasis.

"YOU PERVERT! LEAVE US ALONE!" Rei shouted as she pushed her grandfather out into the yard and loudly closed the door. "Stupid old fart."

Shinnosuke was blushing, in a way that made him seem to Usagi even cuter than before. "That was-interesting."

"My grandfather's getting too old. Seems like we have to watch him every minute."

Just then the acolyte arrived with a pot of tea and three cups. Mika slipped into the room when he entered. He set everything down on the table and silently left the room.

"Anyway," Rei said, getting ready to pour the tea, "you said something about the other night-"

"STOP!" Mika sniffed around the pot. "Don't drink that! Something's wrong with it!"

"Ew," Usagi frowned, "like there's bugs in the tea?"

"More like there's poison in the tea."

"POISON?!"

"Be quiet!" Rei barked. When she continued it was in a whisper. "Whatever attacked the daimyo and your father is trying to get all of us. So let's make them think they succeeded. We'll pretend to be asleep, then grab them when they come in."

They all fell back onto the floor. Usagi started snoring, until Mika put a paw over her mouth. "Don't overdo it," the cat whispered. So they waited, watching through almost-closed eyes.

At first, nothing happened. They waited for hours and still dared not move. Finally, at almost sunset the shoji door slid open. Six men in full ninja dress, faces covered and daggers drawn, slipped silently into the room. They approached the youngsters. Before they could do anything, however, Usagi yawned, stretched and rolled over. She really had fallen asleep.

Shinnosuke couldn't help himself. "Usagi!"

That shout sent the invaders back to the walls, as the three stood, Usagi a little groggily, in the center of the room.

"Alright, Rei," Usagi half-muttered, "which one am I supposed to grab?"

Rei, meanwhile, had fixed her gaze on the acolyte. "I think I know why you did this," she said in a low, level voice.

The acolyte gave a ghostly chuckle, his voice scratchy as dead leaves blowing across stones. "You don't even know who we are, and you can't even begin to imagine our purpose."

"Whatever it is, it won't succeed." Usagi noticed a quick movement of Rei's hand. From somewhere in her clothes she had pulled a stack of ofuda: papers with spells against evil spirits written on them. Quick as a ninja throwing shuriken-and just as accurate-Rei's ofuda hit the six intruders and stuck to them. When they did, Rei called out the enchantment:

"AKURYOO TAISAN!"

With that, the six intruders fell unconscious to the floor. But the three barely had time to catch their breath when the screens slid open on three sides, revealing another dozen ninja in the courtyard.

"Transform!" Mika yelled.

"But my father's sword-"

"It'll be all right! Hurry!"

"Suisei"

"O-tsuki-sama"

"chikara-wo yobidasu!"

The ninja started coming through the screens. Usagi drove them back as best she could with a moon-katana that appeared in her hand even as she spoke the words. Shinnosuke, almost invisible, dashed from one entrance to another, wreaking havoc among the ninja.

Rei was no longer the center of attention-except for the men trying to kill her. But she had run out of ofuda and grabbed a thin flower vase from an alcove, even though she knew it was worthless as a weapon. "You seem to be in charge here," she said to Mika; "what do I do?"

"Your powers come from the red fire-star, Kasei. Call to it!"

"Kasei, chikara-wo yobidasu!"

Rei's clothing didn't change, except in intensity. Her white tunic now dazzled like the sun reflected off hot sand; her pantaloons blazed red likethe inside of a volcano. But the vase she carried had grown to a spear over five feet in length, topped with an elaborate crystalline point.

The acolyte seemed to recognize it and backed away, but Rei was quicker. Just as with Usagi's moon-sword; no sooner did the point touch the acolyte than he dissolved into a mist, leaving only his clothing behind. The other ninja saw what Rei had done, turned and ran from the shrine.

Usagi was fascinated by the lance Rei now held. "What is that?"

"A jintsuukon," she said quietly, just looking down at the weapon in her hands; "this is the weapon of a demon hunter. I've only seen one other like it."

"Well, this one is yours, when you call upon the power of the red star."

"Mika, this is... I don't know what to say."

"Just say that, whatever is going on in Edo, you'll fight it with Usagi and me," Shinnosuke said. "We'll all fight together."

"As long as I remember Usagi-chan isn't a demon," Rei muttered, "and that won't be easy."

"Yeah? At least I wouldn't need a fancy sword for you; I'd swat you with a fan like every other fly!"

"And I'd throw a sandal at you, like a rat!"

"Is that so?!"

"Just like sisters!" Shinnosuke laughed until he cried.

To be continued


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: "Battle on the Plains of Edo! An Unexpected Fighter Enters!"

The second attack on the daimyo Kuruda came a week later. The week would have been a typical, quiet stretch of time for Usagi any other time, but not this summer. Her father was gaining strength after his attack, but was still weak from the loss of blood. Tsukino's wife practically terrorized the household staff, making sure that the master always had some light but nourishing food to eat if he was hungry, or that there were always herbs to ease the pain he still felt in his hand and wrist.

At first, Usagi was among those who thought that her mother had taken things too far. Just because her husband was cut in a fight didn't mean she had to act like an empress. But then came the night that Tsukino had trouble falling asleep from the pain. Usagi was up also, and could hear as her mother read aloud to her father from an old classic, The Tale of Genji. The stately cadence of words describing love among the courtiers hundreds of years ago made Usagi cry, but they were tears of happiness. She knew that, as bossy as her mother had become in recent days, she did all this because she truly loved Tsukino, even after all these years. Usagi prayed-no, she knew-her marriage someday to Mamo-chan would be just like that.

The need for herbs meant that Shinnosuke was now spending a lot of time with the Tsukino household. He checked the samurai's wrist daily, and would usually stay awhile to talk with Usagi. Usually, she asked him questions about medicines-what herbs had what effect and why-and everyone who heard him was impressed with how much the young apprentice knew.

Then, sometimes, when nobody else was within earshot, Usagi and Shinnosuke would put their heads together, talking privately about something. Usagi's mother had caught them talking like that several times. Could it be something romantic? No; they always had such serious looks on their faces. Whatever they discussed, it didn't make them happy. And Usagi still has her heart set on the son of the rice-broker Chiba. Well, at least being friends with the apprentice keeps Usagi away from the docks.

Often they left together and went to Kazan Jinja, to see the girl Hino Rei. Usagi's mother was of two minds about that friendship as well. That girl could grow up to hold a great deal of power and influence, but we'll all have to be very careful. The line between our world and the spirit world isn't always clearly marked, and I've heard stories about those who try to walk that line and then stumble.

But things were seldom so serious when the three young people got together. As friends sometime do, they got together just to be together, without talking about anything in particular. But two days after they fought the ninja in the temple Rei took them aside as soon as they arrived. There was a strange look on her face: anxiety and at the same time a determination not to let it show.

"Takaki came back this morning," she said simply.

"Really?" Shinnosuke said. "Is there news?"

"Enough news. Takaki is dead. Fukaiumi probably is too. I've given up waiting, in any case."

The temperature in the room seemed to drop as Rei spoke. "What happened?" Usagi asked.

"I heard a scratching on the temple gate just before dawn. When I opened it, I saw Takaki on the ground. He'd looked like some wild dog had attacked him; feathers were gone, there were bloody scratches everywhere. I brought him in here and tried to clean him up the best I could. But he was still in a lot of pain, I could tell.

"I turned my back just for a minute, to get some more water. And I heard this strange noise behind me. And I turned back to look, and..." The memory made her shiver, as hot as it was outside. She had to pull herself together before she could continue. "He-it-had grown. Bigger than a crow; it was bigger than a dog now. It had little teeth all along the beak. And its eyes were red, glowing...

"It jumped toward me. I didn't know what to do. He'd hit me with his wing; it felt like being hit with a club. He was trying to peck me, scratch me. I stayed clear long enough to call on the red star Kasei and transform. When the jintsuukon appeared in my hands, I just closed my eyes and stabbed with it. And then I looked again and it wasn't a demon, it was Takaki and I..." Rei couldn't keep a straight face any longer. She buried her face in her hands, crying out, "Forgive me, Takaki! Forgive me!"

Usagi reached out and put one hand on Rei's shoulder; Shinnosuke clutched Rei's other shoulder. Before anyone else could speak, though, they all heard Mika's voice. "I'm sorry it had to come to this, Rei, but I think we all knew it could happen."

"It's going to get worse, isn't it?" Usagi asked. Now she was as scared as Rei had been. "Why don't we just stop now? Stop listening to you? Stop doing what you tell us?"

The cat's voice was level and cold. "Because if you do, you'll wake up one morning to see yourself being attacked by a demon version of your father."

"You're lying."

"I wish it were a lie. But the enemy will keep growing and keep changing..."

"But who is the enemy?" Shinnosuke interrupted. "You've never told us what's going on."

"And I can't tell you; not yet. There are others you must meet who will help you. When you meet them all, you shall know the truth."

"That's not good enough, Mika. Already this enemy has hurt my father, and Rei's-" Usagi hesitated at the word, but only for a moment: "Rei's friends. We need to know something!"

"I'll tell you this much. About twenty years ago the shogun Oda Nobunaga was destroyed."

Rei nodded. "By his own troops. Some say he committed seppuku to avoid the shame of being killed by them."

"Since then, a couple of other shogun held power. Things have settled now around the House of Tokugawa. But there are daimyo in and around Edo who want to overthrow Tokugawa and raise up the ghost of Nobunaga to lead an attack on the mainland."

"Is that possible?" Shinnosuke asked.

Rei nodded her head. "It's very possible. If Nobunaga has become a "hungry ghost", the wrong kind of magic can bring him back, as you said."

"But why would they attack my father?" Usagi asked. "Just because daimyo Kuruda supports Tokugawa?"

"That was the reason at first. But now they realize something that you must realize. There is a larger destiny at work here. You are part of a handful of people who will stand in their way. And they fear you, because you can defeat them. Never lose heart, and never forget what I say: whatever their number and however evil they may appear, you can defeat them."

Shinnosuke wasn't at all worried the next day when he set out at noon into the deep woods surrounding Edo. He had done this a hundred times before for his master: gathering roots & herbs to be made into medicines.

He looked at the forest floor for telltale signs. Finally, he recognized the five-fold leaves and scarlet berries of the ginseng root. Quickly he dug it up, cleaned off most of the dirt and put the healing root in his sack.

A few steps away, he halted in surprise. He saw a sprig of purple flowers he had never seen before. Master may be interested in this, he thought as he dug around the root. Slowly he pulled the plant free of the earth. When he saw what he had, he froze.

The root branched off almost symmetrically, and the limbs reminded him of a starfish. No; a human torso. As soon as he thought that, he realized what he held. Somehow, this plant, native to Europe but not to Japan, written up in rare old books, had taken root in the wilds of a forest outside of Edo. The plant was a mandragora, noted in Europe for both its medical and magical qualities.

Shinnosuke didn't wonder how it came to be there, except to think: Perhaps some Christian priest started a secret garden near here. He did remember reading one bit of lore about the mandragora: because of its resemblance to a human body, the root would cry out if it were cut or broken. He didn't want to break it before his master had a chance to look at it, but Shinnosuke tried squeezing the root.

It squeezed back. In fact, in the blink of an eye it turned into a demonic claw that grabbed Shinnosuke's hand in a viselike grip and pulled his hand into the earth. The demon root gave another tug, and Shinnosuke's arm was sunk in to the elbow.

There were crashing noises in the forest behind him. He didn't turn around to look, but called out, "Suisei, chikara-wo yobidasu!"

He was once again dressed as a ninja, but it didn't help. Whatever had a grip on his arm wasn't letting go. In fact, it gave another tug, and Shinnosuke's arm was buried to the shoulder.

He tried with all his strength to pull free, but the underground hand had a fierce grip. The crashing through the forest came closer...

It was Usagi and Rei. They almost walked right past Shinnosuke, since his ninja clothes rendered him almost invisible, but he called out, "Help me!"

As soon as they heard his voice, they knew what to look for. "What are you-" Usagi began.

"Transform! Quickly!"

"Kasei"

"O-tsuki-sama"

"chikara-wo yobidasu!"

As they transformed, the underground force pulled again, with Shinnosuke straining against it with all his might. He felt as if his arm would be torn from its socket, but this time he did not sink further into the earth. But he was worried about the next time.

"Strike the earth where my shoulder is," he told the others, indicating the moon-katana and the jintsuukon. "Hurry!"

Since Shinnosuke was still barely visible, Usagi had misgivings about this, but she wasn't about to mention them in Rei's presence. The two of them aimed as best they could and struck the earth.

Below the earth, something gave out a muffled yell. A moment later, Shinnosuke pulled his arm free of the earth. It was covered with mud and bruises, but the skin wasn't broken.

He pulled his hood off, and became visible to the others. "What happened?" Usagi asked.

Shinnosuke gave them a quick account of the war with the mandragora root. "Thank goodness you came by. What were you looking for?"

"For you, really," Usagi said. "We were running low on herbs to treat the swelling in father's wrist, so I went to Akimoto-sensei. He said you were going out in this direction."

"Usagi bumped into me on the way out here," Rei went on. "As soon as she said your name, I got a feeling that something wasn't right."

"Your feeling was correct. They set a trap for me, but you pulled me out."

"Well," Usagi shrugged, "it's not time to break up the team yet."

As warm as the weather was, Rei shivered. "I'm afraid that the attacks will increase. We need to be alert all the time."

"Or, we could just spend more time with each other," Usagi suggested.

"I like that. I've spent so much time at home or with my master; I really don't know anyone else my age."

Rei nodded at Shinnosuke's words. "It's been the same way for me. I think we really were destined to meet."

They walked out of the forest feeling considerably better than when they went it. They wouldn't have felt so good if they had seen a robed figure pass slowly out of the trunk of a tree. It watched the three companions leaving. "The Queen will not be pleased," he whispered to himself, then dissolved back into the tree.

The next night Mikazuki showed up at Usagi's window just as Usagi was preparing for bed, easily squeezing through the bamboo lattice. "Don't get undressed, Usagi-chan. You've got to go to the plains outside of Edo."

"Please tell me you're joking."

"I wish I were. This will be a big one tonight."

"They're always big ones," Usagi muttered as she changed into a light traveling outfit. "Why do we have to leave Edo tonight?"

"The daimyo Kuruda. He thought he could avoid an attack by traveling in the dead of night."

"Even I know better than that," Usagi sniffed.

"Regardless," Mika continued, "he thought his men-at-arms would protect him until he got to the outskirts of the city. Then the Shogun's watchmen would be responsible."

"So what's going to happen?"

"The watch will be replaced with dark ninja. Lots of them this time. Be glad your father won't be guarding him."

"He's not a coward!"

"I never said he was. Sorry if I offended you, but I just wanted to say that there'd be lots of the enemy tonight. Be prepared for a hard fight."

This worried Usagi. She didn't say a word to Mika as they wound through the streets of western Edo and at last saw the checkpoint that marked the city limits. They also saw Rei and Shinnosuke waiting a few yards off of the road.

"Have you two been here long?" Mika asked in a whisper.

"No, not really," Shinnosuke answered. "So far all we can see is a camp on the edge of that field. Looks like they're just travelers."

"Looks can deceive. The daimyo should be along here any time now."

It took about another thirty minutes before Kuruda's very noisy party of samurai and other retainers arrived at the checkpoint. After their papers were checked, they proceeded across an open plain along an open road-a half-dozen men carrying daimyo Kuruda's palanquin, two samurai in front, two in the rear, the rest watching the fields on either side. They had gone about fifty yards when Mika's whiskers bristled.

"Everyone down and keep quiet!"

They hid behind bushes, and from their vantage point they could actually see darkness moving along the road-a tangible mass of something like smoke. As it approached the checkpoint, the guards there began to fall into a deep sleep. Kuruda and his party had likewise frozen in their tracks.

"Wait for them to go by," Mika whispered, "then transform."

The waiting put Usagi's teeth on edge. She wasn't especially anxious to get into a battle-especially since she and her friends seemed to have just that odd cloud to worry about-but the dark presence was already too close to the daimyo to suit her.

Shinnosuke seemed to read her thoughts. "Don't worry," he said, "we won't let anything happen."

"Now! Transform!"

"Suisei"

"Kasei"

"O-tsuki-sama"

"CHIKARA-WO YOBIDASU!"

Neither the darkness on the road nor its prey seemed to notice the glow in the forest as the three transformed. Shinnosuke vaulted twenty feet into the air and (if they could have seen him) hit the path running; meanwhile, the glowing figure of Rei cut to the left while Usagi went right, her moon-yukata shining brighter than ten torches, with Mika running alongside. As they did, they could, by the light of the moon above, see the darkness halt its progress along the road. Then it lifted like burned-away fog, revealing an army of about fifty ninja.

Rei flanked them on the left. "AKURYOO TAISAN!" she yelled as ofuda flew in all directions. Most of them found their mark, paralyzing the ninja where they landed. Shinnosuke seemed to be in several places at once, felling the dark ninja at all margins of their formation.

However, just as Usagi was about to wield the moon sword, noises came from the forest behind them.

On either side of the road, another mass of blackness was taking shape, revealing another hundred dark ninja!

"That doesn't look good," Shinnosuke commented.

"You've got to stop them!" Mika warned. "Protect Kuruda!"

"We could use a little help!" Usagi wailed.

No sooner had Usagi said it than the first group of ninja began to part down the middle. The group stared as they saw a teenage girl, her long legs clearly visible where she had tucked up the hem of her already short yukata. In either hand she held what looked like a piece of farm equipment. It was a pole about as long as the girl's forearm and almost as broad, with a handle sticking out near one end.

She made momentary eye contact with Usagi, Rei and Shinnosuke, smiled, then whirled and started swinging the whatever-it-was she was holding.

She seemed to be a master at using it. With a flip of her wrist the pole extended her reach by a foot, enabling her to club anyone who came near. With a flip back, it shielded her forearm from attackers.

"Well," Mika shouted, "are you going to let her do all the work?!"

That seemed to wake up the other three; Usagi charged up the road, swinging her moon katana and turning the dark ninja to mist. Rei was doing the same with her jintsuukon to the left while Shinnosuke felled the ninja to the right. Finally, the dark ninja had either been dispatched or had run away. Kuruda's entourage-which had been frozen during the battle-had simply come back to life when the dark ninja broke off their attack and walked on, oblivious to the whole battle or to the young people on the road behind them.

Usagi came running up to the tall girl after the fight. "That was awesome! What kind of fighting do you call that?"

The girl, about half a head taller than Usagi, wiped the sweat from her forehead with her sleeve. "Don't really call it anythin'. Just somethin' we had to do in Okinawa. That's where I come from; we had a little farm near Terima. Had a lot of trouble with bandit gangs. Every family down that way knows somethin' like this."

"That doesn't look like it was supposed to be a weapon," Shinnosuke said, pointing to the object the girl held.

"Usually it isn't. It's just a handle to a millstone. We call it a tonfa. But it comes in handy in a fight."

"Why did you do it?" Rei asked. "Why did you join the fight?"

"I just didn't like the odds," the girl smiled. "By the way, my name's Kino Makoto. My family's camped yonder. Would you like to rest with us before goin' on your way?"

Before Usagi could open her mouth, her stomach started growling. Makoto laughed out loud. "Well, that answers that. Come on, then; I think we can find you somethin' to eat."

To say they had "somethin' to eat" was an understatement. Even though it was the dead of night and her parents were sleeping nearby, Makoto managed to produce rice and miso soup and a stew made with vegetables and some kind of game bird in almost no time.

Usagi started out by taking a little of everything, then a little more of everything, and then a little more. Makoto beamed; that was all the compliment her cooking needed. Rei and Shinnosuke just looked at each other. They had learned since meeting her about Usagi's almost bottomless appetite.

"How did you learn to cook so well?" Rei asked.

"Somethin' my daddy told me a long time ago," she smiled. "He said I'm gonna be eatin' all my life, so I'd better get good at cookin' what I eat."

"But you don't have to get stuck with the cooking," Usagi said. "There's food sellers all over Edo, and if you can get a servant..."

"Servant?!" Makoto almost laughed again. "We couldn't afford to keep a servant; we could barely afford to keep ourselves."

"Was the farming that hard?" Shinnosuke asked.

"No, not really. But between bad weather and bandits, it got so that a good year was when we broke even. So my daddy decided we'd just give it up and try to start over again in Edo. He's real good with horses, and he expects there's somebody can use what he knows."

"I'll bet Kuruda would. You just saved his life."

"He's somebody important?"

"He's one of the daimyo; my father a samurai in his service," Usagi beamed. "When he gets back from his trip, I can ask my father to put in a good word for your father."

Rei and Shinnosuke just looked at each other. They couldn't tell Makoto that Usagi's father was just one samurai in a large household, and that the word of a girl counted for less than nothing. Makoto probably knew that anyway.

To be continued


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: "Attack in the Stables! The Fourth Senshi Appears!"

In the days they waited until Kuruma's return, Makoto spent a lot of time with the others, but especially with Usagi. The three gave Makoto a whirlwind tour of Edo; at least, as far as they knew it.

When Usagi took them all down to the docks, Mamoru was again tallying the loading of a cargo of rice onto a ship. However, this cargo was small and he could take time to talk. He exchanged introductions with Usagi's friends, and they asked questions about ships before Mamoru was called away to sign and seal some papers.

"So, what do you think?" Usagi asked.

Makoto spoke up at once: "I think he reminds me of a boy I knew back in Terima."

"Now wait a minute! If you think-"

"Relax, Usagi," Rei interrupted. "We've all seen the way you look at him."

"An' I seen him tryin' not to look at you the same way," Makoto added. "You got nothin' to worry about with him. Or me," she grinned.

The morning after the daimyo's return, Makoto's father had an audience with Kuruda. At noon, Makoto went to the temple to report on that meeting.

"...an' he was so pleased that he gave my daddy a job in the stables tendin' the horses! Pays a lot better'n what we made farmin'. We figured we'd get a fresh start by movin' to Edo, but I didn't figure we'd do so well so soon!"

"I'm so happy for you!" Shinnosuke said.

Makoto slid out from the table, shifted onto her knees, and gave Usagi a low bow in the Chinese manner, her forehead touching the floor. "An' I really owe you a debt. Whatever you said about my daddy really worked. I'll never forget it!"

"Don't do that! I really don't deserve it!" Usagi protested, even though inside she was loving every bit of the attention.

"No, I mean it! Anything I can ever do for you."

"Just don't offer to cook for her," Rei loudly whispered; "Usagi-chan is a bottomless pit."

"That's not fair!" Usagi whined, upset because she was just about to ask Makoto to cook something. "Besides, what about the time at the temple when we were almost poisoned?"

"That WAS poison! And I didn't have anything to do with it!"

"That's what they all say!"

"Er, pardon me," Makoto interrupted, "but you two aren't relatives, are you?"

Shinnosuke started laughing again, and after a while so were the other three.

"Anyway," Makoto went on, "I was gonna go down to the stables a little later. Anybody wanna come with me?"

Usagi realized that she hadn't been to the stables in years, even though it was one of her favorite places when she was a little girl. "I can show you where they are! The horses are so nice!"

"Do you think the rest of us would be allowed?" Shinnosuke asked hesitantly.

"As long as you're with me, there'll be no problem. I used to play there all the time."

"How about you?" Makoto asked Rei.

"There are things to do here at the temple. Let's wait and see."

"Well, let's all meet here before dinner. That way, we'll know if you can come along."

Late that afternoon, Usagi and Shinnosuke arrived at Kazan Jinja to find Rei and Makoto already waiting by the gate.

"Glad you could make it," Shinnosuke said.

Rei shrugged. "I just thought maybe I could help."

That caught Usagi's attention. She knew Rei's reputation for being able to look into the future. Can't we just go and look at some horses in peace? she thought. As if to confirm that they couldn't, Mika walked around the corner at that moment. Wonderful, Usagi thought; she usually means trouble. Still, as long as she didn't start talking to Makoto...

The four of them-with a somewhat subdued Usagi-went to the stables where, as she'd hoped, one old caretaker recognized Usagi. "Just look at you!" he beamed. "I was wondering just the other day why Little Missy didn't come around anymore. But I can see you've got other things on your mind."

"But I could never forget you, Moriyama-san." Usagi made the introductions, saving Makoto for last.

"So Kino-san is your father?" Moriyama said. He went on without waiting for an answer: "Seems to be a good man. Knows what he's doing, doesn't talk a lot."

Makoto rubbed the back of her head. "Well, he says I talk enough for the both of us."

Moriyama turned back to Usagi. "Well, Little Missy, I suppose you remember the way."

"Of course. Good to see you again!" She waved at the old man, spun on her heels and led the others into the stables.

The horses were kept in a long, low building with a carefully tended roof. The animals within were tended just as carefully, with attention paid to their food and water, their shoes and saddles. The stables were kept immaculately clean; so clean that even with the large number of horses in the hottest days of summer, there was seldom a problem with flies.

"The daimyo's favorite is on the end," Usagi explained as she led them to the last stall. There, a large and impressive roan eyed the strangers warily.

Makoto took an involuntary step back when she saw the animal. "What's wrong?" Rei asked.

"This is gonna sound dumb, but I was just rememberin' Terima. One of the worst bandit gangs there was called the Red Horse Gang, because they all road roans. And they were mean. They could ask for one-fifth of your crops, then you'd offer them two-fifths and like as not they'd half-kill you anyway and take it all."

"Half-kill?" Usagi asked.

"Yeah. They'd want to keep you around to grow somethin' they can steal next year."

"Aren't you glad to be away from there?"

"It's not that simple. That's my home. An' Edo's the biggest city I've ever seen. I prefer forests."

"Well, you'll like it here," Usagi said, patting the roan on the haunch. When she did that, it reared violently and gave an unearthly scream. That was when they noticed its eyes were glowing a dull fiery red.

"Back off now, big fella," Makoto tried to soothe the horse.

"Makoto-san, don't!" Rei shouted. "It's not a horse!"

She was right. As they watched, horns sprouted on the roan's head and shoulders. Razor-sharp fangs appeared in its mouth. Its mane started to grow before their eyes, turning into long threatening tentacles of hair. Two of those tentacles grabbed Usagi and Shinnosuke by the throat before anyone could react.

Makoto saw a hand-scythe for cutting hay in the neighboring stall. She grabbed it, but the hair was like iron and would not cut.

Rei had taken an ofuda out of her pocket, but just as she started to recite the spell, tentacles of hair wrapped around her throat and wrists.

The demon horse continued to breathe like a furnace, its mane choking the life out of the three. Makoto started to back away, helpless.

"Makoto!"

The Okinawan girl thought she must be losing her mind. A horse was turning into a demon, and now a cat was talking to her!

"Listen to me, Makoto!" the cat continued. "You have power granted by the Tree Star, Mokusei. Call to it! Say, 'Mokusei, I summon your power!'"

"Mokusei, chikara-wo yobidasu!"

In that moment, Makoto's yukata blazed with light like a fire fed with fresh kindling. She also now held what seemed to be a pair of silver tonfa.

The demon-horse reared and tried to strike at Makoto; she used her left tonfa to block the attacking hooves, while hitting at the mane with the right. This time the hair parted like wet paper as she freed Rei from the mane's grip.

Rei fell to the barn floor still gasping for air, but flung the ofuda onto the horse's forehead and managed to gasp out, "Akuryoo ... taisan!"

That stopped the demon-horse cold. The light went out of its eyes; its fangs and horns vanished; the tentacles of hair dissolved, leaving Usagi and Shinnosuke coughing and gasping on the stable floor.

"Watch out!" the cat called; "you only stopped the horse!" Several dozen ninja slowly moved out of the shadows of the barn.

"I have to take care of them, too?" Makoto asked the cat.

"Just wait for the others, and follow their lead."

"Suisei"

"Kasei"

"O-tsuki-sama"

"CHIKARA-WO YOBIDASU!"

This was the largest force of ninja they had ever faced in such close quarters, and at first Usagi and the others held back, afraid of injuring one of Kuruda's horses, or each other, by mistake. But soon they slipped into the rhythm of their defense as they clubbed, stabbed and otherwise dispatched dozens of the dark ninja. Only a few retreated this time. Maybe they had been told to finish the business once and for all.

Soon it was over, and the young people watched the dozens of ninja on the floor evaporate into mist, leaving no trace behind.

Makoto simply scratched the back of her head and muttered, "Sonovabitch." She looked at the cat, then at Usagi and the others. "Does this happen a lot in Edo?"

"Let's go back to the temple," Rei said, "and we'll tell you all about it."

To be continued


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: "The Five Senshi Are Together! The Story of the Moon Kingdom!"

Later that evening, daimyo Kuruda, completely unaware of anything amiss at his stables, discussed matters of security with his wife the Lady Haruko over a game of go.

"Am I wrong to worry? I've increased the guard here at home and when I go away. But, apart from the attack on Tsukino, we have heard of no others."

"This is true, my lord."

Kuruda made his move and leaned back onto his cushions. "I suppose you have an opinion about this?"

His wife contemplated the board for a minute, made a defensive play he hadn't foreseen, and said, "Ten thousand things happen in Edo every day, whether we hear of them or not."

He smiled and scratched his chin as he looked at the board. "The household budget is well off, but hardly enough to bring in many more samurai."

"There are many ronin about now, aren't there, my lord?"

She was talking about leaderless samurai who no longer had masters to employ them. Some of those masters had died, others had fallen on hard times, and the ronin themselves took varying paths. Some abandoned the Way of the Sword altogether to become farmers or merchants or even outlaws, while others searched for new masters to serve.

"We do not have an abundance of money to hire the abundance of talent."

"Then let one of the staff choose which among the ronin can best serve this house. Morobiki can then determine what we can afford."

"Who would you choose from among the staff?"

"Tsukino, my lord. He was injured in your service, but he was a distinguished samurai in the past. It is good that he graces your staff."

Kuruda made his move. "You speak wisely. I would have chosen him for such a task myself. I'll write to him tomorrow asking him to examine any ronin who might wish to serve."

His wife said nothing, but played a move that won her the game. Kuruda said only, "You play to win."

She smiled. "In some games, all the players win."

"Do you speak of children's games?"

For an answer, she picked up the fan she had been using, folded it up and suggestively licked the edge of the fan. "I'm going to bathe now, and await my lord's attentions. Please do not tarry too long." She stood in a smooth movement and glided out of the room.

Kuruda chuckled to himself and thanked the gods and fate for matching him with such a woman. She was not just one of the supreme beauties of Edo's upper class. She had inherited her policeman father's powers of observation; she was sensible enough to administer the household; and the sex- Kuruda was as much a man as any other, and he did not condemn the men who, disappointed or bored with their wives, turned to mistresses, prostitutes, servants or even children. He had simply never needed to do so. His wife was responsive, inventive, energetic, passionate... everything a man could wish in a bed-partner. He made a few quick notes for Morobiki for tomorrow, then rose to follow his wife.

Tsukino received word the next day that he was to search for samurai to join the Kuruda household. He arranged for an open competition to be held in two days at the noon hour, in a field beyond the city limits.

Usagi arranged to be at the field also, watching from a short distance. She wanted to be ready just in case one of the competitors tried to attack her father.

The applicants were strong young men, with an occasional older man, a veteran samurai who'd been let go for whatever reason or who was just looking for a new master. They specialized in various martial arts: swords, daggers, nunchaku and shuriken; all kinds of blades and blunt objects hit their targets with greater or lesser accuracy. Nobody, however, stood out as special. There didn't really seem to be much left for Tsukino to choose from.

Until the final applicant appeared. He wore a wide straw hat that was visible half a mile away, and had the effect of hiding the applicant's face entirely. He resembled a traveler on a religious pilgrimage. There was one other oddity: the young man had a white cat perched on his shoulder. When he was about fifty yards from the target the cat jumped down to the ground; immediately the man broke into a run. While still running, he drew out a longbow, strung it, drew out an arrow, nocked the arrow and let it fly. It hit the target dead-center, as did the next six arrows, fired at different distances and angles, including once when the archer had jumped into the air, but all at a flat-out run.

The archer finally came to a halt just in front of Tsukino's dais, threw himself on his knees with his head practically touching the ground, and the straw hat still hiding his face. He barked out a sentence in a voice that sounded surprisingly young: "I humbly beg to be allowed to serve the daimyo Kuruda."

Tsukino looked back and forth between target and archer for a minute, then stood up and walked off the dais without a word. The archer was being dismissed. Without a word he rose and started back the way he had come. The white cat had waited patiently down the road. When the archer reached it, the cat jumped back up on his shoulder. They walked away.

"Tell the daimyo that I will send a written recommendation tomorrow." Tsukino didn't say another word; he simply bowed to Morobiki and started for home.

Usagi, however, had something to say about it. "Father, that archer was awesome! Are you going to pick him?"

"Archers are useful on the battlements, but not in close quarters. Having to reach for an arrow each time slows one down."

"Then why didn't you say at the beginning that archers weren't allowed?"

Tsukino had to stop and study his daughter. "Why are you asking all these questions?"

"Because ... it's interesting. I've been looking at things from a different point of view lately."

"You're looking at things that do not concern you. There can never be a woman samurai." He paused slightly. "Or a woman archer."

It took a minute to sink in, but when it did Usagi froze. That archer was a woman?! But she was amazing! Where did she learn all that? Would Usagi see her again?

The way things are going, she thought, I'll see her again very soon.

She was right; in fact, they met up later that afternoon. The four friends had agreed to meet by the docks after the samurai competition.

Usagi found the others waiting for her at a noodle shop and dove into a large bowl herself before saying much of anything to the others.

"How's your father doing?" Shinnosuke asked.

He was always so concerned when asking about Tsukino; Usagi liked that.

"Well, he'll never let on, but I think he knows the hand is useless. Still, he keeps trying to pretend nothing's really wrong."

"Can't he learn to use the sword in his other hand?"

Usagi gave Shinnosuke the kind of look Rei usually gave Usagi. "I guess you don't know much about the Way of the Sword."

"I've only heard a little. I study healing, not killing."

"That's the problem! Bushido isn't just about killing. Otherwise anybody who can pick up a blade and hack into an opponent can call himself a samurai. There's a lot more to it than that, and one of the rules is that you use your right hand only."

"What are some of the other rules?" Makoto asked.

"Well," Usagi hesitated, "there are five virtues a samurai has to practice. Those are loyalty, bravery, politeness, simplicity and truthfulness. I really don't know much more about it. I know that much from listening to my father teaching my little brother, and they only started a little while ago."

They were interrupted by music coming from the theater next door. Within the past month someone had bought the old warehouse next to the noodle shop and had turned it into a theater. Specifically, it was a puppet theater, for performances of the art of bunraku.

Puppetry had been a respected art in Japan for hundreds of years, and now was rising in popularity, especially among the common people. The rich and the aristocracy could afford to attend the Noh plays, but those who couldn't afford it went to see the bunraku. Usagi, as the daughter of a samurai, could attend Noh performances, but almost always fell asleep in the middle. She felt the bunraku audiences were getting the better part of the deal. The action was more lively, the chanting wasn't in some ancient dialect nobody could understand, and the range of things the puppets were capable of doing was simply amazing. And all this was accompanied not by an ensemble as in Noh, but by a single shamisen player.

They spent an hour lost in the rhythms of the music and chanting, before the director could be heard dismissing the performers for lunch. The four young customers raced to the door to see who the performers were.

Out of the neighboring doorway came a quartet of children, boys between ten and fifteen years old. The last one out of the building was a girl who carried a shamisen. She glanced at the noodle-shop; as she turned to follow the others, Usagi caught a glimpse of something white-

"Hey!" she yelled, rushing toward this girl, who was walking down the street with a white cat perched on her shoulder. "That was you, wasn't it! You're the archer from this morning! That was awesome!"

"Thank you, but how did you know about that?" The girl seemed neither upset, nor curious, about being accosted like this on the street. She just seemed to be a girl with an open and honest face and a generally happy attitude. Her voice had a Northern accent.

"I was there. My father was the one looking for samurai."

"Oh? Is your father Lord Kuruda?"

"No, but he's his head samurai." Usagi felt that she could get away with embellishing the truth a bit.

"Usagi-chan," Rei said a bit impatiently, "we still have things to discuss."

"That's true; we all do."

All eyes turned to the white cat, which had just spoken these words.

"The five of you were destined to meet. Nobody could know the time and place, but this must surely be the right time and place."

The archer/musician turned to her pet. "Shiro, you've never spoken to anyone else before. Are you sure?"

"Of course he's sure." Mika had appeared and was standing at Usagi's feet, looking up at the white cat. "It's been a long time, Shiro."

"Longer than anyone realizes, Mikazuki."

"All right! Wait a minute!" Usagi couldn't hold her tongue any longer. "There seems to be some deep dark secret behind all our powers and our working with you. I just want to know what it is."

"Of course," Mika said; "it's time." Thunder rumbled overhead. "There's a warehouse at the end of the street. Nobody will disturb us there." They all ran inside and closed the door just as the rain started falling in fat heavy clots.

Mika stared at them all, and the stare seemed like a call for silence.

"This story begins a thousand years ago, in a kingdom on the moon..."

"You're not going to tell us there really is a rabbit on the moon, are you?" Usagi especially had reason to ask, since she was named after that same legendary rabbit.

"This is not a legend, but a true story," Mika went on, "and not about a rabbit but a princess named Serenity.

"No earthly kingdom has lasted as long, or reigned as wisely, as the thousand years of the Moon Kingdom. Each ruler was better than the last; they were all fair of face, wise in judgment and kind of heart. And so it was with Queen Serenity and her daughter, Princess Serenity.

"But all things in Heaven or on earth, or even on the moon, cannot last forever. In this case, the kingdom was not attacked from within but from without."

Shiro took up the story. "We had received word of other worlds throughout the cosmos falling to a dark power. In our foolish happiness, we did not think that the moon would ever be a target. But one day, we heard the advancing troops of Queen Beryl and her Dark Kingdom, and we could no longer ignore what was on our doorstep."

"What is the Dark Kingdom?" Shinnosuke asked almost breathlessly.

Mikazuki shook her head. "There is still so much we don't know about them, because they come from a different part of the cosmos. Their powers were not like ours; their stature was not like ours. Most important, their heart was not like ours. Our beliefs were simple: that love is more to be desired than hate, that life is more to be desired than death, that peace is more to be desired than war.

"We tried to fight against the Dark Kingdom, but their forces were too great. Queen Serenity fought valiantly, as did her daughter and the girl's beloved, Prince Endymion of the Earth."

"Wait a minute," Minako interrupted. "There was love between the Earth and the Moon?"

"Of course; how else are they able to dance through the heavens?"

"We fought valiantly, but it was a lost cause," Shiro went on. "Beryl wanted to destroy every remnant of the Moon Kingdom, and she succeeded. However, in the final moments before the Dark Kingdom washed over us, some of us were called to the throne room of the palace. There was the queen, her daughter with her beloved prince, the two of us who were advisors to the throne, and the princess's senshi."

"She had her own warriors?" Rei asked.

"They were far more than that," Mika replied. "They were her closest friends and confidantes, as well as her bodyguards.

"We knew that there would be no miracle; that the Moon Kingdom would fall. So the queen-"

"Mika! Take care what you tell them," Shiro interrupted.

"The queen used the last of her powers to bind the rest of us all together. She knew that if the moon could be threatened by the Dark Kingdom, then the Earth could be threatened too. In those final moments, we knew that, if such a threat were ever to happen, we would all be reborn together, our past lives would be revealed, and we would unite to defeat the Dark Kingdom."

The listeners sat in amazed silence. The story was utterly fantastic, and none of them would have believed it if they'd heard it even a month ago. However, what they had been through this summer had already convinced them that some kind of otherworldly magic was alive in Edo.

Still, the main question on all of their minds was the same: which one had been the Moon Princess? They weighed the possibilities: Rei had the greatest spiritual power of them all, Shinnosuke was the most educated, Makoto was the strongest and Minako ... well, they'd just met her. But apparently she'd been talking with Shiro for some time before coming to Edo.

Mikazuki interrupted their thoughts by walking up to Usagi, and bowing her head. "We are united again, Your Majesty."

All of them, including Usagi, stared at Mikazuki. Finally Rei blurted out, "Is this a joke? She'd make a terrible princess!"

"Nevertheless, this is what fate has decreed."

"That's right, so don't get all hot and bothered about it," Usagi gloated. "I know I'm not really a princess, although I wouldn't mind being treated like one-"

"But you will mind it," Shiro cut in again, "because it will be you and you alone who must defeat Beryl."

"But, but, aren't you all supposed to help me? I mean, if you were my guards and all..."

"I'll gladly stand by you," Shinnosuke interrupted, "and defend you with my last breath. But I also know that you can't stand against fate. The day may come when we cannot help you."

"Anyway, we all have lives to live here and now," Rei said.

"Face the facts, Usagi-chan," Mika said sternly. "Just because you were once the Moon Princess, that doesn't mean that you have less to do. You have more."

She nodded glumly. "Does anyone here want to be a princess?"

To be continued


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7: "Meet Minako! Rescue on the Docks!"

They also talked to the new girl, Aino Minako. She also had recently moved with her family to Edo, from Hokkaido in the north. The family decided to move once they recognized Minako's talents as a musician.

"Anyway," she said, drinking from a flask of water she carried, "they see the talent they want to see. They like the music; that's acceptable for a girl. I'm playing for the bunraku only because their regular shamisen player hurt his hand carving a new puppet."

"But what about the archery?" Usagi asked. "You're better at that than anyone I've ever seen!"

Minako smiled, her eyes glowing. It's as if she'd never heard compliments about her archery before, Usagi thought. This is a terrible world if it won't take girls seriously.

"I know a few people on Hokkaido who wish they'd never heard of me," Minako went on.

"What do you mean?" Shinnosuke asked.

"When I first met Shiro, there was a lot of trouble in our village with robber bands. He told me to call on Myoujou, the morning star. That made me twice the archer I was before then."

"Did you help the authorities, then?"

"No, actually. Both sides tried to catch me. Neither the robbers nor the daimyo liked my archery any better than my parents did."

"Did your parents know what you were doing?" Rei asked, surprised.

"They didn't know then and don't know now, or they don't want to know. They want me to learn music. That sort of thing is easy for me, but I always felt like I was supposed to do something more with my life."

"Well," Makoto said, "now you know why. We were all destined to be senshi."

"But why here? And why now?" Shinnosuke asked. "Mika, you've just told us a story of what happened a thousand years ago."

"Because..." Minako's eyes were wide with understanding. "Because it's all happening again."

Mika nodded gravely. "Queen Beryl has returned. Once again she aims to create her Dark Kingdom, although at this moment I don't see how throwing Japan into chaos can help her."

"Well," sighed Rei, "we'll just have to ask her, won't we?"

Usagi looked amazed and frightened at once. "You can't really do that, can you? Maybe it's not a good idea."

"Oh I'm not going to do it tonight, or even tomorrow. The truth is, the idea scares me. But we need to find this out, and it may be the only way we get any answers."

When Usagi got home, just before dinnertime, she saw a piece of paper on the floor near her window. She read it through, then hurriedly reread it twice more:

Usako, I can't stand it any longer. I want us to be together forever, starting tonight. Come to the warehouse at midnight. Do not tell your plans to anyone. from Mamoru

It wasn't a dream! Mamo-chan had finally broken down and confessed his love! She knew she wouldn't be able to wait until midnight. But she also knew that she had to. Tonight would be a full moon, but it would also be hot and sweaty down at the docks, and that always makes some of the laborers act a little crazy. She couldn't risk loitering about the docks just waiting for him.

She folded the note and put it inside her kimono. Mika doesn't have to know about this, she thought.

All through dinner she said nothing but beamed happiness and sunshine. She gave her family no arguments, even when mother upbraided her for missing yet another day of lessons. She's too happy, her mother thought. I wonder if a boy-No, it's too soon.

Usagi watched the moon as it slowly crawled through the night sky. At last, with the house quiet and midnight approaching, she slipped out of her futon and changed into a light yukata. Only this time, she didn't wear anything underneath. She felt unbelievably daring as she sneaked out of the house, then ran down the road to the docks. This way, if Mamo-chan wants me right away, we won't have a chance to change our minds. I wish we had a pillow-book to show us all about how to do it, but we have the rest of our lives for that.

When she arrived at the warehouse, the docks were completely deserted. She could hear nothing except the waves lapping against the piers. She stuck her head in the door.

"Mamo-chan?"

She took two steps into the warehouse. Without warning, she was grabbed from behind. A rag was stuffed into her mouth, then tied into place. "There," a familiar voice hissed. "We'll have none of that moon nonsense tonight."

Usagi tried to get away, but a pair of large, rough hands grabbed her wrists and bound them, then threw her into a corner of the shed. The figure sat on the floor in front of Usagi.

"You're a pretty little thing, as humans go," he hissed, "but Queen Beryl will stand for no more interference. Yes, I sent you that note. I'm here to stop you once and for all. Of course, that doesn't mean I have to eliminate you right away." The figure moved into the moonlight. He wore no ninja mask, and Usagi could see his face. Her heart cracked in her chest; it was Morobiki, Kuruda's secretary! So he'd been spying for Beryl all along?

In the moonlight he could see the curves of her breasts. He reached his hand out and pawed at one breast through the yukata. Usagi wanted to die of embarrassment on the spot, especially when his hand moved down to undo her sash. In another second, she would be naked and exposed to his rude eyes.

There was a sudden jerk, and the rude eyes clouded over. Morobiki turned his head, trying in vain to look at the arrow that pierced him through the neck. An arrow that glowed golden as the sun. The eyes rolled back, and he fell over dead.

"You were lucky this time, Usagi-chan."

Usagi looked at the window. Minako sat on the sill, bow in hand, the large straw hat pushed back on her head. She slipped into the room and undid the gag, then started to untie Usagi's wrists.

The first words out of her mouth were, "Minako-chan, we have to go!"

"What's wrong?"

Usagi gestured toward Morobiki. "He's important, even if he does work for demons. If a policeman sees you with that bow, he's not going to care about the Moon Princess or Queen Beryl or any of it."

"Good point. Let's go!" Minako grabbed Usagi's hand, and practically dragged her at top speed through the mostly deserted docks. Usagi didn't dare say a word, but after a while she felt as if her lungs would explode. Finally, Minako slowed down, and they both fell panting against a wall.

"How-how did you know?" Usagi gasped.

"I didn't. I usually roam around at night. It's an old habit from my days in Hokkaido, and they say old habits have nine lives."

"I think you mean old habits die hard."

"Anyway, Shiro thought he saw you, so I followed you."

"I'll bet he's mad at me," Usagi muttered. "Mika would be too."

"They have a right to be angry. They've lived and died and been reborn a hundred times to protect the Moon Princess."

"And what about you?"

Minako looked at Usagi and smiled. "How can I be mad? This is what I was born to do: protect the Moon Princess, even if it means saving her from herself." They walked toward Usagi's house. "Just be more careful. They know they can get to you through Mamoru-san. They'll probably try again."

"You think so?"

"Yes." Minako's voice got suddenly quiet. "That's what they did to me back in Hokkaido."

"Really! You had a boyfriend there? What was he like?"

"I'm sorry, but I can't talk about it now. Maybe another time." Whatever happened, it was enough to shake Minako's spirits. Her usually good humor was totally gone as she remembered her past. In a minute, though, she brightened up again. "Anyway, you're home now. I'll see you in the morning." Minako ran down the road and disappeared around a corner.

Usagi snuck over the back wall and into her room, where Mika was waiting on the futon.

"Don't say it," Usagi sighed, slipping under the covers.

To be continued


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8: "Revelation! An Attack and a Surprise!"

By noon of the next day the ward was full of rumors about the murder of daimyo Kuruda's secretary Morobiki. Fortunately, what could have been a time of suspicion and worry for Usagi was saved by politics. Morobiki had become so heavy-handed with his power that he had alienated many of Kuruda's other staff. In fact, the anti-Morobiki faction was rather sizable, and they had more than enough ammunition to begin speculating as to why the secretary was on the docks at midnight. Usagi's part in his death was never suspected, so her father's position in Kuruda's household remained secure.

Usagi and her friends didn't know about this, because they were back at the noodle shop on the docks, waiting for Minako's rehearsal to begin. Minako herself was running late, but perhaps that was because of her late night rescue of Usagi. Usagi especially wanted to say as little as possible about those events; it would have embarrassed her in more ways than one. So she had sworn Minako to secrecy.

That day, Minako was supposed to accompany the chanter, or tayu, on the shamisen. This tayu had a magnificent natural voice, but it still needed training to fit into the very precise stylized patterns of bunraku.

As Minako tuned the shamisen, she couldn't help but think that she was stringing a bow, getting ready to shoot down some opponent. At first, the director, who had been prominent in Hokkaido back when Nobunaga was ruler of Japan, would not even let her sound a single note. Minako had to sit holding the instrument, back perfectly straight, with the large bachi pick in just the proper position. She spent hours just being seated exactly right. Rather than be discouraged by it, Minako took pride in her ability to tough it out. She thought that not many samurai could stand up to this kind of training.

The director was fixing a few minor problems in one puppet's kimono. Minako's mind was still wandering, until she realized that maybe she wasn't as tough as she thought. The room was taking on a kind of dreamlike quality. A mist seemed to fill the room, making the others indistinct, hard to see or hear. She should have gotten more sleep last night...

"MINAKO!"

Shiro, who usually waited outside in the street, had come in and seen the others begin to transform into demonic versions of themselves. He leapt onto the director's head, then his back. This didn't stop the others from approaching Minako, with baleful glowing eyes and hands turned to outstretched claws. But at least his shouting has pulled her out of her trance.

"Get the others, Minako! They're next door!"

She turned toward the door, but saw only the tayu, now large and grotesque, fangs bared to take a bite out of her throat. She ducked barely out of reach, and only had time to stick her head out into the street and yell, "SENSHI!" before she was pulled back inside.

The others heard and tumbled out of the noodle shop. They didn't see anything in the street, so they looked in next door.

The fog was so thick that they couldn't see the walls, but they could see the monstrous figures that staggered toward them, even as one of them held Minako down on the floor.

Rei reached into her pocket for the ofuda she always carried and flung them around the room, calling out "Akuryoo taisan!" The monsters froze in their tracks, letting Minako scramble to her feet and join the others, but the fog only lifted to reveal dark ninja ready to attack.

"We're supposed to transform now, right?" Makoto asked.

"Mgrmph." Usagi had raced over with a mouthful of noodles.

"USAGI!" Mika screamed. "This is important!"

"Sorry," she gasped, having swallowed all the noodles at once.

"Suisei"

"Kasei"

"Mokusei"

"Myoujou"

"O-tsuki-sama"

"CHIKARA-WO YOBIDASU!"

As they transformed, the little theater literally burst open at the seams. Senshi and ninja spilled out into the lanes nearby, leaving the puppet company still unconscious after their ordeal.

No self-respecting ninja would have fought in broad daylight like this, but they seemed to have no choice. Apparently Beryl had thrown all her forces into this latest trap. Fortunately, the docks were more familiar to Usagi than anyone else, and she took advantage of all the blind alleys, warehouses and piles of cargo she could see to keep the dark ninja from overwhelming her friends. All the while her moon katana vaporized any ninja within reach.

Shinnosuke's near-invisibility helped here. Even though it was broad daylight, only a slight shimmer in the air betrayed where he might be as he blindsided as many ninja as he could with his nunchaku.

Minako didn't dare use her bow and arrow in the street, for fear of hitting passersby. Instead, she bounded up to the rooftops of the waterfront buildings. She drew away some of the ninja from the attack; then, when she'd dispatched them with her golden arrows, she stayed above the fray as a sniper, attacking whoever she could.

Makoto took to the fight like a fish to water. Whether on attack or defense, her silver tonfa rang out as she made her way through knots of ninja. She seemed at first to be enjoying herself immensely.

Rei didn't have any more ofuda, nor was there time to use them. The jintsuukon was all she needed at first, as she tried to drive off the ninja.

These ninja, however, were not to be driven so easily. They avoided the weapons as best they could, fighting back with all the skill they had. And the senshi were beginning to weaken. This was the longest, hardest battle they'd ever fought, and it was beginning to show. They soon made more and more careless mistakes, missing with blows that should have been a hit. They were getting exhausted, and the ninja were counting on that. Finally, with Minako still on the rooftops, the others—even Shinnosuke-were forced into a blind alley.

"Why are they doing this? We still have our weapons," Rei asked.

Then they saw why. The ninja parted to reveal a grotesque monster. It was a puppet nine feet tall and only partly human, for no human ever sported six arms. The balding, green-skinned monstrosity held a shield in one hand, which it used to deflect Minako's arrows. The other five hands each held a whip, and all five of them went flying at once. They reached their targets, then flew back. The monster had snagged the katana, the jintsuukon, the nunchaku and both tonfa. The senshi in the alley were helpless.

The monstrous puppet slowly advanced on them, shield raised high on the left side to block Minako's arrows. However, the monster didn't think about the right side. Not until a bale of rice caught him on the side of the head and sent him spinning. The weapons flew into the alley; the senshi made a dive to reclaim them.

As Usagi stood up, she could have sworn that she saw Mamo-chan standing on the roof of Chiba's business establishment. But her eyes blinked and he was gone. Time to worry about that later. The monster was on the ground, and they had their weapons back. The fight had turned.

Rei ran up and, with a bloodthirsty cry, drove the jintsuukon into the monster's chest. Foul-smelling dark blood geysered up through its wooden chest for a moment, before the beast began to fade and shrink back into a puppet. The remaining ninja in the alley started to back away, but found themselves blocked by Shinnosuke. His invisible blows drove them back onto Usagi's katana, Makoto's tonfa and Rei's jintsuukon. Those who fled the alley were easily picked off by Minako.

At last it was over. The four in the alley simply sat down where they were, exhausted and overwhelmed. Minako made her way down from the roofs and joined them. The first words out of Usagi's mouth were to Minako: "Was that-?"

"Yes, that was Mamoru-san. I'm glad he had the presence of mind to do that. Otherwise, I don't know what would have happened to us."

"Is it just me? That fight wasn't as much fun as the others," Makoto sighed.

The two cats walked into the alley. "These battles were never supposed to be fun," Mika scolded. "Lives are at stake here."

"Fine, fine," Usagi said in an annoyed voice. "Now go chase some rats or something."

"Wait a minute!" piped up Minako. "I know what'll make us feel better in a hurry: a nice hot bath!"

"But it'll take forever to go home and heat up the water," Usagi began.

"Stop whining and use your eyes," Rei cut her off. "There's a public bath at the end of the street."

"Sounds mighty good to me," Makoto nodded.

So the five of them started down the alley, until they realized that it was the five of them. Rei stopped and turned to Shinnosuke. "And where do you think you're going?"

He started to blush again. "I thought we were going to the bath house..."

"Forget it! What kind of games are you thinking of playing!" Rei seemed highly offended.

"Besides," Makoto added, "the bath is the only place a woman can be herself. So you and your 'male privilege' will just have to meet us tomorrow."

"Don't get us wrong," Usagi hastily added. "We all like you and everything, and you're a nice boy, but that's just the problem. You're a boy. It's just too much to worry about. I'm sorry." Usagi turned to join the other girls.

"Wait!" Shinnosuke called out. He thought about something a long time, then gestured. "Just follow me." Shinnosuke led the girls to a deserted alley.

"If we're going to spend time together, to fight together as the senshi and serve the Moon Princess, there can't be any secrets. I've been hiding something since before I met you, and you need to know this about me." Shinnosuke undid the rope that held up his pants, and let them fall. All he wore underneath was a fundoshi loincloth. With a swift movement he pulled down the loincloth.

The four girls silently stared at Shinnosuke, naked from the waist down and blushing profoundly. Usagi broke the silence: "That's such a shame. How did you lose your chinchin?"

"YOU BLOCKHEAD!" Rei yelled in a voice that must have carried all the way to Mount Fuji. "She never had anything to lose!"

"She?"

Shinnosuke pulled her clothing back up and bowed. "The truth is, my name is Mizuno Ami."

Twenty minutes later, they were all in the bath.

"My father was killed by some brawling drunkard just a few days before I was born," Ami was explaining. "My mother cut her hair off for the funeral, and the next day labor started. When I was born, she decided that being a widow was a problem, and being a widow with a girl child was even worse. She couldn't continue my father's trade, because he was an artist. She couldn't go to my father's family, because they disowned him when he became an artist. She had to remarry, but she thought that having a son would make her seem more attractive than having a daughter. So she pretended I was a boy. As soon as she could, she sold me to Master Akimoto as an apprentice. And until now things have worked out fine. But..." Her voice trailed off as she glanced down at her breasts, her nipples riding just above the level of the bathwater. They were somewhat smaller than her companions', but still would have fooled no one. "I keep thinking that these can't be kept hidden too much longer."

"What will you do then?" Minako asked.

"I don't know. I would like to keep studying healing."

"I hope you do," Rei said enthusiastically. "You're very good at it."

"Thank you." Ami blushed. Apparently she wasn't used to praise, either.

"This is amazin'," Makoto gushed. "You know what it means to be a scholar! My daddy always says that education is wasted on girls."

"Do you think your master will let you keep studying with him? I mean, even if he finds out?" Usagi asked.

"I hope so. I'd like to study both Chinese and European medicine. I think we can learn enough from the two so that someday we can cure anything at all."

"That may not happen," Makoto said, putting a fresh wet cloth over her eyes. "I hear that the Shogun wants to get rid of everythin' European."

"He can't do that!" Usagi whined. "That means I won't see any more tall ships!"

"That's right, Usagi-chan," Rei said, "he's doing it just to inconvenience you." And she playfully splashed Usagi, who shrieked and splashed back. The other girls took sides and joined in, churning the water and laughing until the attendant told them to be quiet.

To be continued


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9: "Mystery at the Urabon Festival! A Challenge from Beryl!"

It was almost impossible to believe, but Usagi had turned 14 years old just a few days before meeting Mika, and now, with everything that had happened, only a month had passed. It was the middle of summer: time for the four-day Urabon Festival.

At first, Usagi didn't seem to have much to look forward to. Her mother had spent the past month working on new yukata for the family. Now, with the festival fast approaching, it seemed that they would be one short.

"But why me?!" Usagi whined. "Why do I have to wear old clothes to the festival? It's not fair!"

"It may not seem fair to you," her mother replied, "but it didn't seem fair to me that I should do all the work by myself. You could have spent the past month learning how to sew, as you were supposed to. Then you would have gotten a nice new yukata out of it. You have only yourself to blame."

That was the really unfair part, Usagi thought; there was nobody else to blame. Grandma had left to visit other members of the family the week before, so she couldn't look for help there. She didn't have money enough to buy one, and the few stores which might have extended credit to a member of daimyo Kuruda's household staff didn't have anything she liked. Urabon looked rather bleak this year and, as often as her friends asked her in the days before the festival, Usagi refused to even commit to going.

The day before the festival was to begin, Usagi went to her room from the bath to find a bundle wrapped in paper, leaning against the window. She had no doubt what was in it. The only question was, where did it come from. Had her mother relented, making a new yukata for Usagi after all? Or had Mamo-chan sent it as a surprise gift? She quickly unwrapped the bundle.

It was unlike any design Usagi had ever seen. The overall color of sky-blue wasn't close to anything in Usagi's wardrobe. The sleeves and hem were trimmed with a pale yellow arrowhead pattern that was almost white, but not quite. The color of bones. There was no note, no indication at all of who had sent it.

Usagi slipped off her robe, and, not bothering with undergarments, put on the yukata. It seemed to fit perfectly, and she walked around the room for a minute. The hem wasn't too long; the sleeves weren't too short. She noticed that it seemed to chafe a bit against her breasts. Good; maybe they were growing. She'd long been afraid that they were too small to-

Hey!

The yukata was wrapping itself tight around Usagi, and kept getting tighter. It locked her knees, and she fell to the floor. Her body felt like it was trapped in a vise, and the vise kept getting tighter. The pain was almost unbearable. She tried to summon the moon's power.

"O-tsuki-sama-"

The end of the sash flew up and into Usagi's mouth. Don't worry, she seemed to hear a voice say, I won't strangle you. I want you to feel the pain as I crush the life out of you...

The pain just kept getting worse and worse. Usagi grew faint...

"Usagi!" She heard another voice, felt something tug the sash out of her mouth. Then she saw Mikazuki biting and tearing and scratching at the yukata. Even though the scratches hurt, it was less pain than she was in before, and gradually Usagi helped fight her way out of the dress. Finally, it lay in scraps all over the floor. Usagi also lay on the floor: naked, shivering, covered with scratches, curled into a ball, her terrified eyes fixed on some other world. The scraps started dissolving like melting snow until there wasn't a trace of the yukata in the room.

Mika knew she had to do something, but couldn't think what. She started licking Usagi's cheek, stopping every few seconds to whisper: "Usagi. It's me. Mikazuki. It's over. The dress is gone. It's destroyed. You're going to be all right. Please say something. Speak to me, Usagi-chan!"

Gradually, Usagi's breathing slowed; her eyes shut, then suddenly flew open. "Mikazuki!"

"Are you all right now?"

"I ... I heard her. It was Beryl, wasn't it? She sent me the yukata."

"It would seem so. I think that you-"

Mika never finished the sentence, as Usagi picked her up and hugged her. "You saved my life," she said, barely above a whisper. "I don't deserve it, and you saved my life."

She just sat there, hugging Mikazuki, for a minute or two, her tears falling onto the cat's fur, until they heard steps along the corridor. Usagi put her robe back on to cover the cat scratches and Mika slipped out the window.

Usagi's mother opened the sliding door without knocking. Usagi had her back to the door, and didn't turn around. "Are you still sulking about the festival?"

"No, mother, I'm not."

"I'll be the judge of that." She crossed to the other side of the room. "Usagi! Have you been crying? What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong. I just ... got bath water in my eyes."

"Fine, if that's all it is. I've been thinking about the festival tomorrow. I wasn't able to make new clothes for everyone this year, but it would be a shame if I just stopped wearing this." She produced a yukata from her sleeve. Usagi couldn't believe it! Of all her mother's clothes, it had always been her favorite. It was a colorful riot of stylized chrysanthemums and carp on a pink background. "I'm much too old for anything this colorful," she went on, "but I don't want to just get rid of it-"

If she expected Usagi to simply bow and accept the yukata, it didn't happen. "Mother!" Usagi cried out for joy, holding tightly onto the surprised woman. "Thank you, thank you." She kept holding onto her mother. "I know I haven't acted quite right lately. Just give me a little more time. And have faith in me, please?"

"Er, of course." She had expected Usagi to act a little strangely when she became a teenager, but not quite like this. She gently removed herself from her daughter's grasp. "I'll go see about dinner now." She left the room with Usagi still staring at the yukata, still unable to believe her mother had really given it to her.

She had arranged to meet her friends at the foot of the bridge just opposite where the main festivities were to be held. Actually, celebrations of one kind or another had been held all day. Merchants had either decorated their shops or closed up altogether. Food peddlers were all over the streets. There were games for the children, concerts and dances for the grown-ups, and it would all culminate that evening in the launching of the lantern-boats.

None of the five girls was a stranger to Urabon festivals, but it was a first for all of them together. For Usagi, it was the first time she wore her mother's yukata, and she couldn't have been prouder if it was made of spun gold. For Ami, who had borrowed a yukata from Makoto's mother, it was her first time out in public as a girl. This was Rei's first time in the crowd; usually she stayed at the temple making money by telling fortunes; this year, however, she got permission from her grandfather to spend a few hours enjoying the festival. As for Minako and Makoto, they had come from far-flung country towns at opposite ends of Japan to live in Edo, which was shaping up to be the new capital of the nation. They hadn't known that the city could be so huge, or so exciting.

Only one thing kept the festival from being perfect for Usagi: there was no sign at first of Mamo-chan. While the others enjoyed the festival, Usagi stayed by the bridge, waiting to see if the Chiba family would arrive together.

After a while, she saw Chiba coming from the direction of his house, holding onto a little child with each hand while a third child ran around him, laughing and chattering.

His children? No; they were his grandchildren. She remembered Mamo-chan saying that, when Chiba adopted him, he already had two older daughters. Sure enough, the daughters and their husbands were only a few paces behind Chiba. But Mamo-chan was nowhere to be seen.

Did he stay at home? He wouldn't dare. This was the festival where people received visits from O-Shorai-sama, their dead ancestors. Even if Mamo-chan didn't like Chiba, surely he'd want to pay his respects to his real parents. He wouldn't dishonor them by not showing up.

Leaving the bridge, she followed a trail upstream on the west bank. It wandered in and out of trees. Usagi was so busy thinking about Mamo-chan that she almost walked right into him. She saw him just a few feet ahead, crouching by the river with his back to her. She ducked behind a tree, but he hadn't heard her.

When she looked again, she saw that he held a lantern-boat. Soon, at twilight, the river would be crowded with them, for the ancestors returned at twilight. People would paint the names of their ancestors onto the lantern-boats, light a candle and send the boat down the river. She could see that Mamo-chan had a brush, but he was dipping it into the river. He painted words onto his lantern-boat with clear water. When he was done, he lit the candle from a lantern he carried and set the boat adrift. Usagi watched from her hiding-place. Whatever he had written on it seemed to have vanished completely. The paper was perfectly plain as it sailed past her.

She checked to see that Mamo-chan's back was turned, then she started walking back up the path toward the bridge. Her mind was a blur of guesses and doubts. Why would Mamo-chan go to such trouble? What words had he written on his boat? Why would he want no one else to read them? She realized with a sick feeling in her stomach that there was much about Mamo-chan she still did not know. Could she ever trust him again?

At that moment, she saw the other four girls coming toward her. They had been having fun earlier in the day, but now they were serious.

Ami was the first to speak. "Usagi-chan, Mika told us about what happened with the yukata yesterday."

"And I told them about Morobiki," Minako added. "I'm sorry."

"We can't let this go on any longer," Makoto interrupted. "I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm tired of waitin' for a fight."

Rei put a hand on Usagi's shoulder. "Come to the shrine first thing in the morning. Even though it's still Urabon, it's time for me to contact Beryl."

Usagi, still numb from the night's surprise, could only nod her head yes.

The flames burned steadily on the altar as Rei started chanting. The other four girls behind her could see the changes almost immediately. For one thing, she started sweating, which even the hottest fire had never made her do. Then Rei's muscles began to tense up, pulling her from one side to another like a dog on a leash. Suddenly she spun herself around the room in a mad dance; the true sign of a powerful miko. Three times she circled her friends and the fire, chanting all the while. Finally, Rei's voice cracked, and she stopped dead, then slumped to the floor, silent.

Ami leaned toward her to help. "Leave her alone!" Mika warned. "Just wait."

They waited. The fire burned down by itself. Then a voice came from Rei, though it was not her own. "I should congratulate you, children," the voice said, cutting the last word short out of contempt. "You have thwarted every one of my attacks on this pitiful little island. Of course, you could not have done it without the help of magic."

"The point is, that it was done," Mika said. "Now, you did not have to answer just because Rei called to you. You want to say something."

"Correct, as you always were. By the way, what do you call yourself these days? Surely not Luna."

Minako interrupted. "You are of the spirit world. What does the restoration of Nobunaga matter to you?"

The ghostly voice laughed. "You really are a child, and yet you are correct. This is not about Nobunaga. Nobunaga had one good idea: attack the mainland. But he never took it far enough. His allies, though, could change everything. United under Nobunaga's banner, they could take war and destruction to China and beyond, cutting a mad and murderous path through Asia and on into Europe."

"So you kill for killing's sake?" Ami asked.

"I kill so that my great ancestor Queen Metallia may revive. This planet stands at a center point in the universe, just as Japan stands at a center point. If Japan does not fall to me, Europe cannot fall. If Europe does not fall to me, this planet cannot fall. If this planet, and its life-force of millions of people, does not fall to me, the Dark Universe of Queen Metallia can never come into being."

The girls began to realize the scale of the battle they had been fighting.

"But, as I said, you have blocked me in this most crucial step," the voice went on. "I will waste no more of my minions on this world."

"Then you'll leave us in peace?" Usagi interrupted.

"I propose something a little different. One final battle. No massed armies of ninja, no magic on either side. Just you and me, Princess."

"Err, just who?"

"Your friends can come, as they wish. No others. You must sail up the coast from Edo, past Kamakura to the island called Enoshima. I will be waiting for you."

"What if I don't want to meet you?"

"Sometimes the seas can be rough. Sometimes a storm at sea can even come close to land. You will come to me, because if you don't, I will create a tsunami like none has ever been, a tidal wave large enough to cover your entire island and drown every living thing."

"Animal!" Makoto cursed under her breath. "You want to kill all these people?"

"Of course not! I need them. But I can't use them as long as you stand in my way. So the choice is yours: I can fight one, or drown tens of thousands."

Ami looked over at Usagi, whose head was hanging down. They couldn't see her face. She seemed to be crying. Then they heard her voice: "I never wanted much out of life. I just wanted to be able to smell the tea brewing in the afternoon, to watch the ships unloading in the harbor, to eat miso soup and noodles and sweet potatoes and lotus root. Even to play with my little brother. And someday Mamo-chan and I would get married and I'd give birth to a little girl who would want what I want now, and it would start all over again. That's how life goes on in this world. I never wanted to be special."

Usagi's voice caught in her throat. The others watched as she slowly raised her head. She may have been crying a minute before, but now her eyes blazed fury. "But then you attacked my father. You crippled a samurai for life. You owe a debt to my family. And if I have to go to Enoshima to fight you, or to Hokkaido, or to Hell, I will fight you and I will beat you, you monster!"

The voice seemed to leave Rei's body, and was spoken by empty air, disappearing up through the roof. "I'll be waiting," it chuckled coldly before it faded into nothingness.

Usagi and Rei both blinked; they both seemed to be coming out of trances. The other three girls had tears in their eyes. Ami could only manage to say "Usagi-chan" before she threw her arms around her friend, sobbing like a child. The others did the same. Rei, still weak from her trance and lying on the floor, could only get up on one elbow and smile weakly at Usagi. "I guess you aren't a rat after all."

To be continued


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10: "For the Moon Kingdom! Final Battle on Enoshima!"

They waited until Urabon was over. On the final day, after a time of charity to man and beast-when not even an insect was harmed-the five girls met before sunrise at the bridge. At least, they tried to meet; everyone from the ward was there, each carrying the family's salute to their O-Shorai-sama: a small carved boat filled with balls of cooked rice and raw dough. Everyone placed their toy boats in the river, and watched as the sun slowly rose over the mountains and the birds made short work of the rice balls. As they devoured the food, a boat would tip over; a signal that the family's ancestors had returned for another year to the land of the dead. Some left early as soon as their boats capsized; others waited until the sun had cleared the mountaintop. That signaled the end of Urabon.

As the crowds dispersed, Usagi waited by the bridge. The others appeared in short order, including Ami, dressed once again as Shinnosuke for the first time since Urabon began.

She beamed as if she were in love. "I'm so glad I was able to be a girl for Urabon," she told Usagi. "All this time, I felt like I've been lying to my father by pretending to be a boy. But I feel fine now."

"Let's hope it lasts," Rei interrupted. "Are we all here?"

The cats were missing, so the girls decided to wait. It was a full hour after sunrise before Shiro and Mikazuki appeared, smiling contentedly. They seemed to have gotten visibly fatter during Urabon.

"The first thing we need is a ship, and someone to get it to Enoshima," Mika said.

"Leave that to me," Usagi said, as she headed for the docks. The others followed as quickly as they could. They all knew where she was going and what she had planned.

Mamoru was at the office, even though few other people were about. "Mamo-chan! Where is everyone?"

"Probably at home. Urabon may be over, but I don't think people are rushing to get back to work today. It's going to be a hot one."

"So why are you here?"

"Oh, I just have a few odds and ends to take care of."

Usagi took a cushion and sat next to him. "I don't bother you, do I, Mamo-chan?"

He knew better than to answer questions like that directly. "Don't worry," Mamoru smiled, "I'll tell you when you do."

"Well, I think that business will be a little slow today."

"It probably will."

"It would be cooler to be in a boat sailing down the coast, wouldn't it? The wind and the spray and so on..."

"It probably would."

"And I'm sure Chiba-san wouldn't mind if you maybe borrowed a boat for the day..."

"Usako, why don't you just tell me what this is all about?"

"I'm sorry, but I can't, not until we're close to where we're going."

"But where ARE we going?"

"ENOSHIMA!"

A chorus of voices rang out from behind the corner of the building. A second later, Rei stormed up to Usagi, with the others close behind. "Honestly, Usagi-chan, couldn't you just have asked him? Why hint around all over the place?"

Usagi turned to the miko. "Easy for you to talk," she said barely above a whisper, "but I have plans for Mamo-chan beyond today. I don't want to mess that up."

"That's all well and good," Minako added, "but we don't have a lot of time."

"So let me see if I understand." Mamoru had leaned his own head in close to the circle of girls. His interruption left them all flustered. "I'm to get a boat and take all of you down to Enoshima, and very soon. Is that it?" An embarrassed Usagi just nodded. "Well, Chiba-san has a boat down at the end of this pier that should hold all of us. Have any of you ever sailed before?" The girls looked at each other, then all but Makoto shook their heads.

"I been on some boats; nothin' big or fancy, but on an island as small as ours you've gotta get wet sooner or later."

"Fine. I may not need much help, but I'll let you know when I need it. Now, the boat is-" Mamoru started to point, then stopped in mid-sentence. The girls knew exactly which boat to take.

It was the boat with a black cat and a white cat standing at the bow, each with a curious crescent moon on its forehead.

In no time at all Mamoru was maneuvering the boat out of the bay and into the open waters, turning and following the coast to Kamakura and, beyond it, to Enoshima.

Usagi's love of ships lasted as long as she wasn't on one. They seemed solid and pleasant enough from the dock. On deck, however, life was another story. It was all Usagi could do to get from point A to point B on the boat without sliding past her target, being thrown off-balance or hit in the face with ocean spray. They hadn't been away from the docks for ten minutes before Usagi stated her verdict on the trip: "I changed my mind! I wanna go back!"

Ami, on the other hand, was loving every minute of it. The higher the boat bounced on the choppy waves, and the more she was splashed with spray, the happier she seemed.

"I've never been on a boat before," she told the others. "I had to stay close to home, for my mother and for my master. But this is wonderful!"

"Of course," Mika said, referring to the word "mizu" in her name, "but it's more than just part of your name. The Water Star Suisei is the source of your power, as it was when you served the Moon Princess."

"I can believe that now," Ami said, just as the boat burst through another oncoming wave. The spray blew back and soaked Ami from head to foot. She laughed delightedly and took off her glasses, trying in vain to dry them on her sleeve.

At that moment, Mamoru came forward to adjust the sail, having asked Makoto to hold the tiller. He glanced at Ami, then stared, then went back to the tiller, wiping his eyes.

"What do you think his problem is?" Ami asked the others.

Minako turned toward Ami, then burst out laughing and said, "You are!"

Ami glanced down, and everything became clear. As far as Mamoru knew, Ami was still a boy named Shinnosuke. Yet that last wave had soaked Ami's clothes so that they clung to her body, revealing every detail of her breasts. Her face went a violent red as she used her hands to cover first her burning cheeks, then her chest, as the other girls laughed at her embarrassment and Mamoru's confusion. They decided there would be time enough to make a proper introduction when they returned to Edo.

Once they passed the hills at Kamakura, the sea seemed to level out. The wind was behind them now, and they'd make good time to Enoshima.

Usagi, now in far less distress, approached Mamoru. "I'm so sorry to inconvenience you like this."

"Don't mention it, Princess," he smiled.

"Princess?! How did you know?"

"Then it's true. I've had such strange dreams the last few weeks, about your friends, and you and me."

"I'm so glad you know. I never knew how to tell you all this, but I knew that I had to."

"Usako, it... I'm sorry, but it doesn't matter. I still can't ever marry you."

"But why?!"

"My parents have been dead for ten years. That's how long I've lived with Chiba-san. But you don't know why my parents died."

"I don't care why it happened."

"You have to care. They-They were put to death by the shogun."

"Put to death? What- No; I don't care what they did."

"You must care, Usako, because if they ever come for me, I don't want you to be hurt."

"Why would they come for you, if you were a child when it happened? What happened?"

"My parents hid a Christian sympathizer and refused to give him up. It was my grandfather." Mamoru had been staring straight ahead, afraid to look Usagi in the eye. Now, however, he turned to her. "I don't want you to suffer their fate, and you might if you became part of my family."

"Tell me, please."

"Usako, don't make me-"

Tears welled up in her eyes. "Mamo-chan, I beg you!"

That was it. He could make Usagi keep her distance only so long. But when she started to cry, he could deny her nothing.

"All right then. You know that before they were banned, there used to be two kinds of Christians in Japan. One followed the Society of Jesus; the other followed the teachings of Francisco. My grandfather was a Buddhist monk, but he spoke with the followers of Francisco. He liked it that they dealt mostly with the poor and the sick.

"Then my grandfather began to teach that Francisco was a bodhisattva; an enlightened soul who refuses to enter paradise, but stays behind in order to help the rest of us to go in. It was a dangerous teaching, and the shogun Hideyoshi ordered that my grandfather be executed. My parents hid him for a while, but soon he was discovered, and they were all put to death. By that time, I had been given to Chiba-san to raise me as his own son."

Mamoru sighed. "Now you know. I didn't keep the truth from you out of shame. It was a dangerous truth, and I didn't want any danger to come to you."

Usagi answered by taking Mamoru's hands in hers. "But I've been fighting all summer, and I'm on my way to our last fight with this Beryl-one way or the other. But I'm not worried. Nothing serious has happened to me so far, and nothing will happen to me today."

"Hey! Everybody!" Makoto's call from the tiller focused their attention ahead of them.

"Is that it?" Minako asked.

"I've seen fog come in, but not like that," Mamoru said. "This feels all wrong."

It was as if a small cloud had decided to rest on top of the ocean. It covered a small area with a dense fog that the midday sun could not burn away. "Enoshima is definitely in there," Mamoru went on, "but that fog is unnatural."

"That shouldn't surprise us," Shiro said. "Everyone! Be on your guard."

"Usagi-chan," Mika turned to the nervous girl. "This fight will probably be more dangerous for you than for any of us. You may have to call for additional power-"

"Mika, don't!" Shiro turned on her. "Don't tell her!"

"Tell me what?" Usagi interrupted. "If there's a weapon I don't know about..."

"Only because it could either save your life or kill you!" Shiro said.

Usagi thought back on everything she had seen and done in this impossible summer. "Mika, please tell me about it."

"Only if defeat seems unavoidable must you resort to this last chance, Usagi-chan. You must invoke the name of Ginzuishou, the Silver Crystal."

"The-"

"Don't even say the name now. Unless you intend to be a samurai like your father, and face the very moment of your death."

The sea was calm-unnaturally calm. A small cove lined with boulders waited for the boat as if it was built for it. The island was dead quiet; no insects, no birds, no larger animals. Even the lapping of the waves against the side of the boat seemed unnaturally muted.

"Be careful." Even though Shiro's voice was low, it seemed loud against the unnatural stillness of the island.

They all stepped out of the boat onto a boulder, then onto the grass. A small green space bordered the trees at the center of the small island. The trees, however, seemed so thick that none of them could see more than ten feet into the woods.

There were no dead leaves or fallen branches; nothing to make a noise underfoot. All their nerves were at the highest tension as they stepped slowly into the woods.

Suddenly there was a rush like the wind. Before anyone could speak, vines shot down from the trees, wrapped around the ankles of everyone but Usagi, and pulled them off the ground, hanging them twenty feet in the air.

"NO!" Usagi screamed.

Mamoru started to call to her, but another vine wrapped around his face, silencing him, as all the others were silenced.

"That's better," came a voice from behind Usagi.

She turned, to face a monstrous distortion of a woman. She stood nine feet tall easily. Her eyes had the dull chemical glow of rotten wood in a swamp.

"One against six? As your friend said, I don't like the odds. I am Beryl, and you are mine, Princess."

"Wait! Are you sure this isn't a mistake? My father's a samurai; that hardly makes me…"

"Shut up. It's no mistake. You and your senshi fought me and my forces a thousand years ago when I was extending my empire to the moon. Well, here there are no soldiers, no senshi. Just you and me, as I promised."

She gestured toward the grass between them. At once two katana appeared, one larger than the other but otherwise identical. "Pick yours up and let's get started," Beryl snarled. "You have cost me too much already."

But Usagi was in the grip of total fear. No cat, no friends, no magic could help her. Had she learned any of the tricks of her samurai father? Had she really followed bushido-the way of the sword? She moved slowly toward the nearest katana, always with an eye on Queen Beryl.

"The longer you drag this out, the worse it will be for you. What's the matter-afraid that I'll attack you before you even get your sword? I can fix that." The other katana shivered, then jumped off of the grass and into Beryl's hand.

Usagi grabbed the handle of the other katana, then backed away quickly. "You said no magic!"

"I said a lot of things. I meant it when I said that I was going to restore the Dark Universe of Queen Metallia. And this time you won't stand in my way!" She brought the blade down straight toward Usagi's head. She brought up her own sword to block it, but it felt like five men were pushing back at her. Usagi kept her arm as steady as she could, but she could feel herself sliding backward on the damp grass. At the last possible moment, she sidestepped, causing Beryl to drive her blade into the dark earth of the island.

"Not bad," Beryl sneered, "but not enough to win!"

With a horrid shriek Beryl swung her own blade at Usagi; it missed her stomach by inches. Usagi fought back the desire to run for the boat. She held her ground and took one or two cautious steps toward Beryl.

Beryl let loose a torrent of blows. Usagi deflected them, but she was being worked backward, further into the trees. She didn't want to think what might be waiting there for her.

For a quarter of an hour they fought: Beryl using brute strength and anger, Usagi calling on hidden reserves of energy. However, it wasn't enough. The Queen of the Dark Universe again began pushing Usagi into the trees. This time, Usagi couldn't stop it.

She tried for one last swing on her part, but Beryl's blade caught it at a sensitive spot. Usagi's blade snapped in two, the point flying into the grass.

Usagi had nothing left to fight with. No; wait. She did.

"GINZUISHOU!" she shouted.

Light. Everything in the world had turned into light. Usagi was no longer sure she was even standing on solid ground. The dazzling light seemed to dissolve the rest of the world; there was no Beryl, no island, no ocean. Just Usagi.

And the other two.

At first Usagi could not believe her eyes. There was something about the others, the woman holding the child, which reminded her of... but worry about that later. Her first impulse was to drop to her knees in a low bow, covering her head with her hands.

"Arise, Usagi."

"I-I cannot."

"Why not?"

"Aren't you the Kannon? The Goddess of Compassion?"

"Of course not," the woman laughed. "I am just as human as you are. In a way, we are one."

Usagi looked up. Yes, there it was. The strange woman with the gold-colored hair wore Usagi's face! "I don't understand."

"We rule over what Edo will become hundreds and hundreds of years from now-a far-distant future when you shall be reborn as a queen." And the land behind this woman, indistinct until now, came into focus. This can't be Edo, Usagi thought; it must be Paradise! There were buildings taller than the tallest trees, taller than anything Usagi had ever seen, made not of wood but of something clear and shiny as ice. "Perhaps this would be more helpful." A third figure now appeared beside the other two: a man. A man who was dressed in odd clothes Usagi had never seen before, but whose face was that of Mamo-chan! "Your Mamoru will be here, reborn as your king." She glanced down lovingly at the child sleeping in her arms, a little girl about five years old. "And this child shall be your child," she went on. "Your friends will be here, too; Ami and Rei, Makoto and Minako. But it all depends on you now, and the outcome of this battle against Queen Beryl. You cannot let her defeat you now."

"I'm afraid she already has," Usagi said, bowing her head and starting to cry. "I don't know what else to do."

"The power of the Silver Crystal will be revealed to you. When it is, do not hesitate to use it. Or else all will have been for nothing."

"Use it? How?"

The divine family started to fade.

"Stop! Tell me what to do!"

As the Queen of the Future and her family faded into nothingness, Beryl's voice cut through: "Fine; I'm telling you to DIE!"

Beryl appeared, slicing her sword through the air straight down at Usagi's head. In a flash, Usagi brought up the broken sword, catching Beryl's blade in the guard. Beryl pushed the blade with both hands now, trying to make sheer force work where even her magic had failed. Usagi pushed back with her right hand as best she could, propping herself up with her left, when out of the corner of her eye she was distracted by a silvery glint from the broken sword blade, now looking too short to be much of-

Too short!? No; just short enough! This had to be why samurai had a matched set of swords: long and short.

Usagi's fears suddenly vanished; simply knowing that there was even the slightest hope bolstered her confidence. She knew she had to do this carefully; if she overplayed her hand, Beryl would figure it out and change tactics. She pushed back harder and harder with her right, drawing on strength she didn't know she had, forcing Beryl back a step at a time, until Usagi came within reach of the broken blade. A final push brought her within range, as she drew herself up to a squatting position, freeing her left hand. In a fluid movement she swung her free hand down to the ground, grabbed the blade and shoved it into Beryl's side. It slipped between the ribs, exactly parallel to them, and didn't even come close to scraping bone. Usagi kept pushing the broken blade with the flat of her hand until the shard was totally embedded in Beryl. Then her left hand slid away because of the blood; she lost her balance and fell onto her back. Beryl advanced, not noticing what had happened to her, intent only on finishing the girl with the broken sword.

She reared back, prepared to strike-then froze.

Beryl finally felt the blade within her. Whether from pain or panic, she screamed, an unearthly howl. But along with the sound of her agony, moonlight streamed out of her mouth. And her eyes, her nostrils, the wound in her ribs; silver light consumed Beryl from within like a doll tossed into a fire. Usagi couldn't take her eyes off the ghoulish figure as it dissolved into a flash of silver radiance. Then, the light too faded into nothingness. There was not a trace of Beryl to be found.

At once the fog began to lift, and noises started crashing through the forest. But these were noises Usagi had waited to hear:

"Usagi-chan!"

First came the cats, bounding out of the thinning fog, with Mamoru and the girls in pursuit. Usagi couldn't even say his name; she just fell against Mamoru's chest, crying and crying as her friends congratulated her.

Finally, she pulled herself together. "Everyone, I think I'm going to let my little brother be the samurai in the family. I'm not cut out for this."

"It doesn't matter, Usagi-chan," Mika said. "It's over. You fought the battle of your life today, and you won. Beryl and her armies will not trouble the earth again; well, not for hundreds of years, anyway."

A cooling breeze blew across Enoshima, scattering the last of the mists that covered it. "Let's go back," Mamoru said.

Usagi recovered enough when she was on the ship to stay next to Mamo-chan as he worked the tiller. The winds favored them, speeding them back the way they had come.

"Usako?"

"Yes?"

Mamoru smiled. "I could just leave the others at the docks. Then we could stay on this boat and sail wherever we like." He leaned forward as if to kiss Usagi.

Before she could answer, the boat was pushed nose-up by a sudden swell and fell just as suddenly. So did Usagi, landing on her butt at Mamoru's feet. Wincing in pain, she stood up again. "I think I'll be staying around the house for a while. My mom is supposed to teach me to sew."

"You'll be making kimono?"

"Something more important: cushions!"

The others laughed. The wind picked up, speeding them all on their way back to life in Edo.

OWARI (The End)


End file.
